This New Gadget Uses Custom Scents and AI to Improve Your Sleep

If you’ve ever used a pillow spray or lotion designed for sleep, you understand the power that scent can have on rest. So does Kimba, a new sleep technology company whose clinically validated, AI-powered Kimba device is now available for preorder in the US. The Kimba tracks your health metrics to release scents while you snooze, aiming to guide you into a deeper, more restorative sleep without the need for pills, the company said in a press release.

Unlike wearable devices that passively track your sleep, the Kimba seeks to actively improve it. It does so with built-in ambient sensors that monitor breathing patterns, movement, room disturbances, light levels and snoring, along with the ability to connect to wearables such as the Whoop, Oura Ring, Apple Watch, Fitbit and wearables by Garmin. Then it delivers personalized scents using three capsules contained in the device.

Kimba was founded by Ben Fuxbruner, a former special forces commander who dealt with post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic insomnia after a near-death injury. Sleep and brain science researchers, including olfactory and neuroscience expert Anat Arzi, who holds a doctoral degree in neurobiology, helped develop the Kimba device. 

“The influence of sensory input during sleep is significant,” Arzi in a statement. “Olfactory stimulation is uniquely beneficial for this because it can influence brain activity without waking the individual.”

Once the Kimba is released, I plan to test the product to see if it lives up to its promises and the price of about $600 a year.

It begins with a sleep assessment

It all starts with a sleep assessment on the Kimba app. This assessment helps the sleeper “to understand their sleep challenges, goals, preferences and lifestyle factors,” Fuxbruner told CNET. Those who preorder a Kimba will take the sleep assessment to create a personalized sleep profile and determine which three scent capsules they receive first.

There are currently 12 water-based, plant-derived scent formulations packaged in proprietary scent capsules that are replaced every three months. Scents include Soft Blue, created with Roman chamomile to support sleep initiation; Golden Grove, made with Austrian sandalwood to ground the body; and Lemon Calm, built with Bulgarian melissa (also known as lemon balm) to downshift anxiety. 

New capsules are scheduled to ship before replacements are needed, and these shipments are part of the Kimba membership.

According to Fuxbruner, the $299 preorder price includes the Kimba device, app access, a six-month membership with personalized scent deliveries and free shipping. After that, preorder you can continue receiving scents through your membership at the same discounted rate of $299 every six months (about $49.90 a month). That comes out to about $600 a year.

AI uses your data to pick your sleep scents

Following the sleep assessment, once you go to sleep, the Kimba will monitor nightly health metrics, including heart rate variability, movement, breathing patterns and data from wearable devices. Fuxbruner explained that it uses its proprietary adaptive AI to analyze this data and determine when, what and how much scent to deliver, and to make adjustments throughout the night to optimize recovery, sleep continuity and depth. 

Kimba’s machine learning models “learn how sleep patterns evolve over time and differ across individuals using physiological signals from wearables and Kimba’s own sensing systems,” said Fuxbruner. “Because Kimba’s objective is measurable: better sleep quality, continuity, recovery and cognitive performance, Kimba can continuously evaluate and optimize its models based on real-world outcomes.”

In other words, the more you use the Kimba system, the more personalized your scent experience should become. 

New scents are delivered quarterly

During the first few months of use, Kimba establishes a baseline using information from the onboarding questionnaire, sleep data collected from a wearable and using the Kimba’s built-in sensors. The device doesn’t use cameras but can detect sleep-related sounds, such as snoring.

“The system is designed to filter for specific sleep-relevant signals only, collecting only the information necessary to generate personalized sleep insights and scent recommendations,” said Fuxbruner. Conversations and other audio are not recorded, stored or retained, he said.

As data is gathered, the system identifies patterns between specific scent combinations and positive sleep outcomes, such as longer periods of deep sleep or fewer nighttime awakenings.

Then, each quarter, Kimba users will receive updated scent recommendations and before shipment, they can review these scents and why they’ve been endorsed in the Kimba app.

Kimba’s privacy policy 

All data is encrypted both in transit and at rest within the Kimba ecosystem, including the device and cloud infrastructure, Fuxbruner said.

Kimba’s privacy and security practices align with HIPAA requirements and the international ISO 27701 privacy management principles. Data is used solely to personalize and optimize your sleep experience and is not sold or shared with third parties for advertising purposes.

Current and future research

Arzi conducted a study with 50 participants over 48 nights and found that Kimba improved their sleep quality and cognitive performance. These findings are to be presented at conferences later this year. 

Under the guidance of sleep expert Peretz Lavie, Kimba is advancing two additional clinical studies: one using polysomnography (PSG, also known as a sleep study) to evaluate physiological sleep outcomes, and another focused on mental health and PTSD to explore Kimba’s impact on sleep and recovery.

You can register for preorder at kimba.ai. Shipping will begin this fall.