Amazon has filed a document with the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) seeking permission to use radar technology to achieve sleep tracking in its products. When it becomes operational, Amazon’s move will also make it possible to use hand gestures to control Amazon’s Echo devices, as applied to Google Nest Hub and Pixel 4 smartphones.

Amazon hopes to join Google to engender a better understanding and assessment of sleep using a contactless technology like radar. There is a strong nexus between sleep hygiene, good health, and productivity. Therefore, it is important for a user to effectively determine his sleep trajectory for more excellent health and fitness awareness. For example, the Google Nest Hub Smart display provides a more robust sleep tracking mechanism than current contact methods prevalent in most devices.

The details of the FCC filing by Amazon on the new radar sleep-tracking sensor show that Amazon is claiming the technology can assist in a better understanding of sleep issues by users. The fine details of how the radar technology will work with Amazon devices were not reflected in the FCC document, fuelling speculation that we are still far from the premiering of the technology in an Amazon device. The soon-to-be-released Amazon Echo Show is also not indicated whether the device will come with the radar sensor technology.

With a focus on sleep health on the rise, different devices have been prevalent, including smart wearables and other gadgets, for a comprehensive sleep tracking mechanism. Sleep patterns could provide valuable insights into possible health conditions, and the data logged on sleep is a trove of useful information.

As these techniques continue to be deployed in new devices and data collected, there are still concerns about the privacy of users, which could be breached with unauthorized access to such data.

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