Nintendo has filed a patent for what appears to be a sleep monitor device. The patent filing, which was recently unearthed by NeoGAF forum members, includes some early drawings of the device as well as descriptions for how it works.

From the simple sketches included in the patent, the device looks similar to an alarm clock and features a docking station, speakers and a ceiling projector, IGN reports. It is unclear if the device plugged into the docking station is also part of the sleep monitor or if it's intended to represent the user's smartphone.

The device is meant to detect and collect information on the user's sleep, such as pulse rate and temperature, according to the patent, which was filed in Japanese but provides an English abstract.

"This information processing system comprises a portable terminal. The portable terminal detects sensor information for assessing a user's emotions," according to the patent application. That sensor information could include "sound information which is detected by a microphone, or image information which is captured by a camera."

The device uses the data it collects to calculate the user's "sleep score." The sleep monitor then projects the user's results on the ceiling or the wall, as shown in the below drawing included in Nintendo's patent application.

Considering Nintendo's success with the Wii Fit, focusing more products and services on health and wellness seems like an appropriate next step for the company. Health and fitness trackers of all shapes, sizes and price points are looking more and more like the next great frontier in tech for companies big and small.

The device shown in this patent application could be part of Nintendo's "Quality of Life" initiative introduced by the company's late CEO Satoru Iwata in 2014. Iwata announced Nintendo's plans to develop a non-wearable sleep sensor in October of that year, but no official product has been unveiled since then. According to IGN, Nintendo could release a health-focused device in 2016.

Photo: Tony Alter | Flickr 

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