LG to develop smart home devices responsive to users’ sleep data

An air conditioner or a TV set equipped with a timer that automatically turns power on and off based on the user's preference has been around for years.

Now, South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc. plans to take such technology to the next level with new smart home appliances that respond to human breathing and diagnose sleep stages to operate at an optimal level. 

LG said on Monday it has signed an agreement with Asleep, a Korean startup specializing in AI-powered sleep analysis, to jointly develop next-generation smart home devices.

Under the MOU signed on Monday, LG will work to develop new smart home appliances, including refrigerators, TVs, air conditioners and washing machines that integrate Asleep’s AI technology that diagnoses sleep stages based on users' breathing sounds during sleep.

The startup’s technology allows the user to track the four sleep stages – wake, light, deep and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep – with a speaker-equipped device such as a smartphone or smart TV.

LG said it plans to integrate such technology into other products to manufacture various sleep pattern-tracking devices.

For example, LG’s table-type air purifier, Aero Furniture, would switch to sleep mode if it detects the customer is asleep, and the Whisen air conditioner would set an optimal room temperature in line with each of the four sleep stages, an LG officials aid.

LG Electronics has been strengthening its smart home appliance business using AI and big data technology since Lyu Jae-cheol took the helm of the company’s Home Appliances & Air Solution (H&A) division in 2021.

Earlier this year, the division unveiled the LG UP line of products, which allows users to upgrade their existing LG appliances by adding new parts.

Asleep plans to showcase its sleep-tracking technology at the world's premier electronics exhibition, CES 2023, to be held in Las Vegas next month.

Write to Jeong-Soo Hwang at hjs@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.