It's unclear at this point if the sleep monitor is a two-device system, or if it's just the dock and the handset-like drawing is merely the user's smartphone. Either way, Nintendo's tracker will be equipped with sensors, microphone and a camera that will keep track of the user's temperature and pulse rate, among other things. It will then use the data it collects to assess a user's emotional state and calculate his/her "sleep score" -- the person's stats and results will be projected on the wall or the ceiling. Some people will undoubtedly find all those sensors a bit too intrusive (perhaps even creepy), but this is just a patent anyway. We'll know the monitor's features for sure when Nintendo releases it, which according to IGN could be sometime in 2016.

[Image credit: Alamy]