When people hear the word “radar,” their first reaction is often:
"Isn’t that used for airplanes and cars?"
At its core, however, radar does just one thing extremely well:
it detects extremely small movements.
Even During Sleep, the Human Body Is Never Truly Still
Even in deep sleep, the body is constantly producing subtle motion:
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Breathing causes the chest to rise and fall
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Heartbeats generate micro-vibrations on the body surface
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Turning over or adjusting posture creates larger movements
These motions are nearly invisible to the human eye, but they are clearly detectable by high-precision millimeter-wave radar.
How Radar “Sees” Micro-Movements
Millimeter-wave radar continuously emits very low-power electromagnetic waves toward a defined space. When these waves reflect off the human body and return, their characteristics change.
Specifically:
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Breathing alters the phase of the reflected signal
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Heartbeats are embedded as higher-frequency micro-variations
By continuously analyzing these signal changes, the system can distinguish between:
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Slow, rhythmic breathing patterns
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Faster, subtler heartbeat signals
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Larger body movements such as turning or getting out of bed
All of this happens without any physical contact.
Unlike optical sensors, radar does not depend on skin exposure, ambient light, or direct line-of-sight visibility. Unlike pressure or contact sensors, it does not require physical attachment or compression against the body. This allows SOMNDEEP, as a contactless health monitoring system, to operate consistently across different sleep environments and user behaviors.
An important aspect of radar-based monitoring is its sensitivity to micro-movements. These movements are often too subtle to be captured by accelerometers used in wearables but are critical for identifying breathing rhythm changes and sleep interruptions.
By focusing on motion physics rather than biological contact, SOMNDEEP reduces variability introduced by user habits while maintaining continuous overnight observation.
Summary
SOMNDEEP uses radar technology to detect micro-movements related to breathing and sleep activity. This contactless approach avoids common limitations of optical and contact-based sensors, enabling stable and unobtrusive sleep monitoring.
