[AI Revolution](79) Analyzing Breathing Sounds During Sleep to Aid Deep Sleep... A-Sleep

Sleep Quality Measurement Possible with Just a Smartphone
Measurement Results Comparable to Polysomnography
Technology Integrated into SK Telecom AI Assistant 'A-dot'

The market for 'Sleeptech,' a technology that analyzes sleep-related data using advanced technology to aid sleep, has recently been growing mainly in developed countries. This is because developed countries have a higher proportion of people suffering from sleep disorders and many companies possess the technological capabilities to solve these problems. Recently, major big tech companies such as Samsung and Apple, recognizing the market's growth potential, have been entering the sleep market one after another.

Sleeptech is broadly divided into two areas: monitoring sleep and providing improvement solutions. Among these, the most notable market is monitoring. This is because to find appropriate sleep improvement methods, it is necessary to know an individual's sleep data such as bedroom environment and lifestyle habits. There is a domestic company specialized in this sleep data analysis. It is 'A-Sleep.' A-Sleep is leading the market through artificial intelligence (AI) technology that measures personal sleep data such as sleep stages and breathing stability indicators.

Lee Dongheon, CEO of A-Sleep, said, "We possess sleep AI technology that measures sleep stages in real-time through breathing sounds during sleep and simultaneously provides breathing stability indicators such as snoring," adding, "It is AI technology boasting world-class performance based on convenience, economy, and accuracy."

A-Sleep's sleep AI has the economic advantage of only using breathing sounds during sleep, so there is no need to purchase other devices; just a smartphone is sufficient. Also, as long as there is a device with a microphone, the technology can be applied, making it easy and convenient to check sleep quality. The AI model's accuracy was enhanced by learning from polysomnography data of 6,000 hospital patients and 700,000 home environment sleep data.

Dongheon Lee, CEO of A-Sleep

The application 'SleepRoutine,' which applies A-Sleep's sleep AI technology, helps users easily understand their sleep quality. SleepRoutine detects the user's breathing sounds through the smartphone microphone and measures sleep status using AI technology. Human breathing sounds vary according to sleep stages from stage 1 (light sleep) to stage 4 (deep sleep), as well as the presence of sleep apnea and snoring. A-Sleep measures each user's sleep status using its accumulated big sleep data and AI. It provides measurement results closest to polysomnography, which medically measures sleep status by tracking brain waves, blood oxygen levels, breathing, heart rate, and movements of the eyes and arms in a sleep laboratory.

It also features a 'smart alarm function' that automatically detects the sleep stage optimal for waking up near the user's set wake-up time and sounds an alarm.

CEO Lee said, "In a recent comparative study announced by Stanford University and Bundang Seoul National University Hospital, SleepRoutine showed the highest performance, surpassing global big tech companies such as Google Watch 8, Google Pixel Watch, and Oura Ring 3."

A-Sleep is creating personalized sleep solutions through collaboration with traditional solution companies in the sleep market. Last month, it signed a business agreement with Kyungdong Navien to develop sleep technology to be applied to sleep mats, and in September, it began introducing AI sleep monitoring technology to Evejarie's sleep specialty brand 'Sleep&Sleep' pillows.

A-Sleep's sleep AI technology has also been installed in SK Telecom's AI assistant 'A.Dot,' which has recently been in the spotlight for iPhone call recording. Under the name 'A.Dot Sleep,' it provides services such as measuring users' sleep and suggesting daytime activities.

Overseas expansion is also underway. Recently, it signed a business agreement with Realize Innovation, a subsidiary of SoftBank in Japan. Japan, along with Korea, is considered a representative country with sleep deprivation. According to statistics compiled by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2021, Japan's average sleep time was 7 hours and 22 minutes, ranking the lowest among 30 member countries. A-Sleep plans a business model where it provides sleep measurement software to Realize, which then sells it to Japanese companies.

CEO Lee said, "We will introduce various services utilizing A-Sleep's accurate and simple sleep measurement AI technology in the Japanese market, one of the world's largest sleep markets," adding, "We will use success in Japan as a stepping stone to advance to larger stages such as the United States and Europe."