Can't stop snoring? How about a gentle caress from a polar bear?

SMALL PRINT:IT'S ONE OF the most annoying ailments around, and for decades, medics and drug companies have tried to come up with effective cures for snoring. Nose strips, vocal exercises, oral devices, and even surgery are mooted as ways to stop it, but recently perhaps one of the best remedies was revealed. Japanese researchers have developed and built a robotic polar bear pillow that can apparently help you stop snoring permanently.

Jukusui-Kun (which means “deep sleep” in Japanese) was revealed at last month’s International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo. The polar bear contains a remote pulse-oxygen meter in the form of a baby polar bear teddy that is attached to the snorer’s hand.

When the snoring grows too loud, increasing the chances of sleep apnoea and the levels of oxygen in the blood drop, the robotic polar bear kicks into action and gently paws at the snorer’s face. As most people who share a bed with snorers know, if you gently touch someone’s face while they’re snoring, they’ll change position without waking, and you can hopefully enjoy a sleepless night.

The polar bear also has an in-built microphone so it can monitor the noise level of snores. A wireless terminal collects and analyses the data and remotely controls the bear. Innovative, if complicated, but most importantly cute, Jukusui-Kun’s developers at Waseda University in Tokyo, unfortunately for polar bear-loving snorers, have yet to manufacture the product beyond testing stage and into a commercial one.