By KEIICHI KITAGAWA/ Staff Writer
January 28, 2021 at 07:00 JST
This image illustrates how the Wellness Toilet program will help users to assess the state of their health. (Provided by Toto Ltd.)
Good news for those worried about their health but are too busy to go in for a checkup.
Peace of mind is only one flush away.
Toto Ltd.’s new toilet will allow users to evaluate and even get tips on improving their health by simply sitting on it in the comfort of their bathrooms.
The leading sanitary ware maker, based in Kita-Kyushu, unveiled its Wellness Toilet service at the first online session of the CES tech show. Relieving oneself while sitting on the product, one can receive exercise and dietary recommendations.
“We expect people to make casual efforts to keep themselves in good health through daily activities,” said Ryoji Nakamura, head of Toto’s Digital Innovation Division. “I would like consumers to get an idea of the state of their health and for changing their daily habits through the help of the recommendation feature.”
Toto will work with start-up firms and research institutes outside Japan to pitch the new product to the market in the first half of the 2020s.
Through the service, the heart rate and other bodily information will be collected from the skin that comes in contact with the lavatory seat. Data on urine and excrement will be gathered as well.
Based on the sampled data, the user’s health status will be evaluated by artificial intelligence.
The nutritional state, stress level and other health indicators will be displayed on a smartphone app. Proper meals and physical activities, such as advising individuals who lack sufficient nutrients to eat an avocado salad with salmon and chicken, will be suggested.
In the event that the sitter’s nutritional status is good, the service will encourage the person to “keep working” for wellness.
Toto in the 1990s started research to take advantage of bathrooms for improving health and has recently delivered a urine analyzing toilet to medical centers.
The latest project aims to enable ordinary households to easily examine health conditions through simple use of bathrooms.
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