Japanese electronics manufacturer Panasonic has never been known for sleep tracking products. But the company has been steadily patenting in Consumer Sleep since 2015. While its earlier filings aligned with its product portfolio — lighting and HVAC solutions — recent applications indicate an interest in sleep monitoring, likely to be followed by new products.

Two patents filed in 2020 cover sleep stage detection and a sleep wearable. These technologies are new to Panasonic, but the company surely has the resources for R&D. Panasonic has made a number of business moves in the past year, including entering the wireless headphone market and ending solar panel production. The headphones were preceded by a number of patents filed from 2019 onward, indicating that Panasonic does invest in patents before products. The company is also restructuring and spinning out subsidiaries — perhaps sleep and consumer healthcare will become a new entity in the mix. It would certainly put Panasonic on par with typical competitors like Philips, Bose, and Fujitsu, which are all present in the Consumer Sleep Patent Forecast®. Subscribe to the sector to see how companies continue to move in the space.