The robot, shaped like a cuddly polar bear, reportedly combats snoring by making people turn their heads over during their sleep.
The robotic bear involves users inserting their hand into a device which measures blood oxygen levels while sleeping beneath a sheet with in-built sensors and a microphone to detect loud noises.
During moments of breathing difficulty associated with snoring, blood oxygen levels drop – and the polar bear robot activates its paw which tickles the user's forehead.
The movement apparently compels noisy sleepers to turn over and stop snoring without waking, according to media reports.
The robotic bear paw also flips over the heads of sleepers when the in-built microphones detect snoring over a certain volume.
The robot, called Jukusui-kun – based on the word for deep sleep in Japanese – was developed by scientists at Tokyo's Waseda University and was unveiled during the International Robot Show although it is not yet on the commercial market.
Credit: Japan Trends