Bed Acoustic and Pressure Sensor Fusion for Snore Detection Accuracy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing snore and breathing monitoring systems often rely on single modality acoustic data, leading to inaccuracies and false alarms due to environmental noise, and are ineffective in identifying snoring partners in shared sleeping scenarios.
Innovation Solution
A bed system that integrates acoustic and pressure sensors to fuse acoustic energy and pressure variations from an inflatable mattress, using a controller to generate snore/breath parameters and control home-automation devices based on these parameters.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If single modality acoustic data is used for snore and breathing monitoring, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision and reliability deteriorate due to environmental noise interference
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines acoustic sensors and pressure sensors into a unified monitoring system. The acoustic sensor captures sound waves from snoring and breathing, while the pressure sensor detects pressure variations caused by respiratory movements. By merging these two sensing modalities, the system achieves superior measurement precision and reliability compared to single-modality systems, as the pressure sensor data provides a reference that helps filter out environmental noise interference.
Solution Approach 2:
The pressure sensor acts as an intermediary reference that mediates between the acoustic signal and environmental noise. By comparing acoustic data with pressure sensor data, the system can identify and eliminate false alarms caused by environmental noise, thereby improving the reliability of snore and breathing detection without requiring overly complex signal processing algorithms.
2Device complexity
If acoustic sensors alone are used for monitoring, then device complexity is minimized, but reliability deteriorates due to false alarms from environmental noise
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by continuously comparing acoustic sensor data with pressure sensor data. When the acoustic sensor detects potential snoring or breathing events, the pressure sensor provides feedback to verify whether these events are genuine or caused by environmental noise. This cross-validation feedback mechanism significantly reduces false alarms while maintaining system reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The pressure sensor serves as an intermediary verification layer between the acoustic detection and the final alarm generation. By introducing this intermediary check, the system can distinguish between true respiratory events and environmental noise, thereby improving reliability without substantially increasing device complexity.
3Ease of manufacture
If single sensor modality is used, then ease of manufacture is improved, but ability to identify partner snoring in shared sleeping scenarios deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the monitoring function into two independent sensor modalities: acoustic sensing for sound detection and pressure sensing for respiratory movement detection. This segmentation allows the system to effectively distinguish between snoring events from different partners in shared sleeping scenarios, as each sensor type captures different aspects of the respiratory activity that can be independently analyzed and correlated.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances snore and breathing monitoring accuracy by incorporating bed presence and sleep status, reducing false alarms from environmental noise and enabling effective partner snore detection.
Implementation Method 1
an acoustic sensor configured to sense acoustic energy in the environment of the user
Implementation Method 2
a pressure sensor configured to sense pressure applied to the mattress by the user laying on the mattress
Data Source
AI summary
A mattress supports a user. An acoustic sensor is configured to sense acoustic energy. A pressure sensor senses pressure applied to the mattress. A controller is configured to receive an acoustic stream from the acoustic sensor. The controller is further configured to receive a pressure stream from the pressure sensor. The controller is further configured to combine the acoustic stream and the pressure stream in order to generate a set of snore/breath parameters. The controller is further configured to determine that a home-automation rule includes a condition that includes the generated set of snore/breath parameters. The controller is further configured to, responsive to determining that a home-automation rule includes a condition that includes the generated set of snore/breath parameters, send an instruction to drive a controllable device to the controllable device.