Google gets into sleep surveillance with new Nest Hub screen
Google's next internet-connected home device will test whether
consumers trust the company enough to let it snoop on their sleep.
New sleep-sensing technology will be a key feature on Google's
latest version of its Nest Hub, a 7-inch smart screen unveiled Tuesday.
But the latest Nest Hub can also perform a new trick. If you allow
it, the device will also monitor your sleeping patterns from your bedside,
negating the need to wear a fitness device or any other potentially bothersome
gadget in bed.
The feature, which Google intends to
offer for free through at least this year, relies on a new chip Google calls Soli,
which uses radar to detect motion, including the depth of a person's breathing.
The USD 100 Nest Hub can display pictures and video in addition to
fielding questions and handling household task through Google's voice-activated
assistant. It doesn't feature a camera.
The Nest Hub is supposed to generate weekly sleep reports with
easy-to-understand breakdowns on the length and quality of sleep, how
frequently the user gets up at night and snoring and coughing frequency, along
with tips developed in consultation with the American Academy of Sleep
Medicine.
Google says
it honed the technology by studying 15,000 sleeping people over a combined
110,000 nights.
That kind of help may sound appealing to the millions of people
who have trouble sleeping. But the feature may also raise privacy concerns
especially given Google's long history of online surveillance to collect
personal details such as interests, habits and whereabouts to help sell the
digital ads that generate most of its revenue.
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