Somnambulism, or sleepwalking, can cause individuals to unknowingly perform actions such as walking outside or moving objects, leaving them vulnerable to accidents and injury. Current approaches, such as improving environmental safety with door and window alarms, do not address the underlying sleep disturbance. Other treatments can also be challenging because patients often have little or no memory of their sleepwalking episodes.
Sony’s patent application addresses this gap with a system that can predict the likelihood of a sleepwalking event and detect its onset during sleep.
The system uses the user’s physiological data to generate a “risk level score” before bedtime. It collects cardiac, vascular, respiratory, localization, and inertial measurement unit (IMU) data, along with daytime activity, through connected wearable devices such as a smartwatch. It then assesses the likelihood of an impending sleepwalking episode.
Combined with the pre-calculated risk score, the system monitors the user’s movement and position during sleep. A machine learning model first determines whether the user is in deep sleep before detecting a potential event, helping to reduce false positives. If an event is detected, such as the user shifting their weight to stand, the system triggers an auditory or vibratory alert. The alert can gradually increase in intensity to gently interrupt the episode without fully waking the user, where possible.
Why it matters
This wearable-dependent technology could also signal a potential strategic shift for Sony. Wearable device shipments reached 147.5 million units in the first quarter of 2026, with smartwatches representing the second-largest segment after hearables. Although Sony has not maintained an active smartwatch lineup since its 2012–2014 series, the patent application could point to an opportunity for the company to re-enter the segment.
Sony’s application also highlights how wearables could move beyond passive sleep tracking toward predictive intervention. By combining physiological signals, daytime activity, sleep-stage detection, and machine learning, the system could identify a potential sleepwalking episode before it fully develops and intervene in real time.
More broadly, Sony’s innovation positions the company within a rapidly expanding sleep technology market. According to Global Market Insights, the sleep technology market is expected to grow from $34.6 billion to $160.6 billion by 2035, representing a CAGR of 18.6%, driven by rising demand for at-home sleep monitoring and management.
U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2026/0260758, titled, “Apparatus, method, and system for determining a risk level of a somnambulism event occurrence and apparatus, method, and system for detecting a somnambulism event,” was filed on March 5, 2024 and published on September 3, 2026. Pablo Barros, Anja Pflug, Gonzalo Bailador Del Pozo, Serkan Eryilmaz, and Hugo Embrechts are listed as inventors.