14 DAY TRIAL // The hardware-focused team at Nintendo has long been talking about creating a line of devices which will improve the quality of life for users and it seems that the first one of them will be focused on sleep and on how each individual can improve it using a simple range of exercise and dietary changes.
A lot of companies are already offering similar solutions, but they are all focused on tech which needs to be on the body of a user.
Nintendo aims to create a non-contact device, which will use a special QOL sensor that can be placed somewhere near the sleep area and then uses a radio frequency in order to measure even small body movements, the rate of his heartbeat and the way he is breathing.
The new device, which at the moment does not have a name, is being created in collaboration with a company called ResMed, with Satoru Iwata being quoted by CVG as saying during a company investor meeting that they are a leader in the creation and the marketing of medical equipment.
Fatigue scientists from Japan like Dr. Yasuyoshi Watanabe, Dr. Hirohiko Kuratsune and Dr. Seiki Tajima will work with Nintendo in order to then incorporate the results in future research.
The Quality of Life initiative from Nintendo is designed to increase the user base for the products of the company, although it is unclear whether the new sleep sensor will be connected in any way to the Wii U or the 3DS.
Nintendo wants to have an integrated cloud system
Satoru Iwata says that the new sleep sensor will constantly communicate with cloud servers and will then be able to distribute info and feedback to smartphones and other devices.
The CEO adds, “When we look at the prevalence of smart devices today, if we can use them to help visually represent sleep and fatigue status, it would be a waste not to make use of them to, for example, check the status or offer service to users.”
Nintendo has revealed that his company has not managed to significantly increase sales of the Wii U home console, which continues to lag behind the PlayStation 4 from Sony and the Xbox One from Microsoft.
The company has managed to return to profitability on the back of games sales and the 3Ds continues to be dominant in the handheld category.
At the moment, it’s unclear when Nintendo will deliver the new Quality of Life platform.