CES 2022: Not Sleeping On Ring Sensors

CES 2022 is currently underway, and one of the major trends is smart rings, with both Circular and Movano showing rings. Circular analyzes biosignals to provide feedback on sleep and other daily activities. The company raised over $300,000 in a Kickstarter campaign. Movano analyzes and provides feedback related to sleep. The company has raised $12.5M in funding over two rounds.

Circular and Movano face competition in the smart ring marketplace from the market leader Oura, which recently debuted a subscription model ($6/month) for their Third Generation ring. Oura has 16 patent assets in the Consumer Sleep Technology Sector, including 9 patent assets in the Data Processing and Analytics category and 7 patent assets in the Sensor category. Both companies also face competition from other wearable device manufacturers, including Fitbit, Apple, and Samsung.

Circular only has 1 patent asset in the Sensor category of the Consumer Sleep Technology Sector. This level of patenting is not enough to keep up with Oura. Movano has a more significant patent portfolio, which primarily focuses on analyzing sensor data. However, none of the published applications or patents include the word “sleep”, and are therefore not included in the Consumer Sleep Technology sector. As the Movano ring is intended to be a consumer product, this is a gaping hole in the patent portfolio.

Follow the Consumer Sleep Technology Sector Patent Forecast® for more developments in the sector.