Sleep tracking is moving beyond smartwatches and fitness bands. Xandar Kardian, a health technology company specializing in contactless radar monitoring, has introduced Somily, a consumer health device designed to monitor breathing, heartbeat patterns, and sleep activity without requiring users to wear anything.
Announced on November 5, 2026, Somily uses radar technology to measure subtle movements of the chest while a person sleeps. The device mounts on the bedroom wall above the bed and monitors the body through the air and bedding. Unlike conventional wrist-based trackers, it does not rely on optical sensors that measure blood flow through the skin.
Somily Uses Radar to Monitor the Chest Instead of the Wrist
Most consumer wearables measure heart rate using optical sensors that detect changes in blood flow beneath the skin. Somily takes a different approach by measuring movement directly from the chest.
The device uses radar technology to detect how the chest rises and falls during breathing and how it moves with each heartbeat. According to Xandar Kardian, its sensor sends a small radar pulse 15 million times per second and analyzes the returning signal to measure changes in the body’s position.
This approach allows Somily to examine more than the number of breaths or heartbeats recorded during a particular period. It is designed to show how breathing and heartbeat patterns change over the course of the night.
For example, two people could each average 16 breaths per minute but experience very different breathing patterns. One person might breathe evenly throughout the night, while another could experience shallow, rapid, or irregular breathing before eventually settling into slower, deeper breaths.
A conventional average may not communicate those differences. Somily aims to provide additional context by showing how breathing patterns vary over time.
The company calls this measurement respiratory rate variability, or RRV. It describes RRV as the breathing equivalent of heart rate variability (HRV), a metric that has become familiar to many people who use fitness trackers and smartwatches.
Respiratory Rate Variability: Looking Beyond Breaths Per Minute
One of Somily’s central features is its focus on respiratory rate variability.
Rather than simply reporting how many breaths a person takes per minute, the system examines how breathing changes during sleep. It is designed to distinguish between deep and shallow breathing, regular and uneven patterns, and slower and faster breathing.
Xandar Kardian says this information can help users notice changes that may not be obvious from a single average respiratory-rate measurement.
For instance, someone might wake up feeling unusually tired even though their familiar sleep or fitness metrics appear unchanged. Somily could reveal that breathing became shallower after 2 a.m. or that the breathing pattern changed significantly during the night.
The goal is to give users a more detailed record of what happened while they were asleep, rather than relying on a single number to describe the entire night.
The company says similar overnight breathing records have been used in its clinical monitoring work. Somily brings that type of measurement into a consumer bedroom setting.
Heartbeat Clarity Adds Another Layer of Overnight Monitoring
Somily also introduces a feature Xandar Kardian calls Heartbeat Clarity.
The company explains that every heartbeat produces a small movement in the chest wall. Its radar system measures this movement and examines how clearly and consistently the heartbeat comes through during the night.
Because the device measures chest movement rather than detecting a pulse at the wrist, it is designed to capture the movement associated with individual heartbeats and how regularly those beats are spaced.
The resulting measurement is compared with the person’s usual overnight patterns. This can help users see whether the heartbeat signal appeared relatively steady or changed compared with their recent nights.
Xandar Kardian argues that this provides a different perspective from conventional heart-rate measurements. Instead of concentrating exclusively on beats per minute, Somily looks at the movement associated with the heartbeat and how consistently it can be detected.
The company says this approach draws on the way clinicians monitor heart activity from the chest in medical settings.
No Wearable, Camera, Microphone, or Charging Required
One of Somily’s biggest selling points is that users do not need to wear a device to bed.
The sensor mounts on the wall above the sleeping area and monitors movement without requiring direct physical contact. There is no wristband, ring, chest strap, or other wearable to put on before sleeping.
The system also does not use a camera or microphone. Xandar Kardian says its radar technology measures movement rather than capturing images or audio.
This could make Somily appealing to people who dislike wearing fitness trackers overnight or regularly forget to charge their devices.
It may also be useful for older adults, people with limited mobility, and individuals who cannot comfortably wear conventional tracking devices.
The company also says the radar system can distinguish periods when a person is awake, talking, or turning over in bed. Those minutes are excluded from its resting measurements, helping the system focus on the periods it identifies as sleep.
XKare App Turns Overnight Measurements Into a Daily Report
Somily works with Xandar Kardian’s XKare app, which presents the collected information in a morning summary.
The app compares the latest night’s measurements with the user’s recent nights and highlights changes in breathing, heartbeat activity, and sleep.
Its nightly view brings together several signals, including RRV, Heartbeat Clarity, and an overall recovery summary based on breathing, heartbeat, sleep, and routine.
For example, if a person wakes up feeling different but sees little change in familiar health metrics, the app may show that breathing became shallow during part of the night or that heartbeat movement was less clear than usual.
This gives users a specific pattern to monitor over time rather than leaving them with a general impression that they slept poorly.
However, the announcement does not provide detailed information about the app’s full reporting capabilities, supported integrations, or whether the measurements are intended for medical diagnosis. Somily is presented as a consumer monitoring product, and its measurements should not automatically be treated as a substitute for professional medical assessment.
Built on Technology Used in Clinical Monitoring
Although Somily is Xandar Kardian’s first consumer product, the company says its radar technology has already been used in healthcare environments.
The device is built on the same radar platform as the company’s XK300, an FDA-cleared medical device used to monitor vital signs without physical contact.
According to Xandar Kardian, the XK300 has monitored more than 49,000 people in hospitals, skilled-nursing facilities, and other care settings over more than five years. The company also says the device is cleared in the United States and five other countries.
Its development is supported by research documented in 37 journal publications, according to the announcement.
The company sees Somily as an extension of this clinical monitoring experience into everyday homes. Rather than limiting contactless radar monitoring to hospitals and care facilities, it wants consumers to access similar types of overnight measurements in their bedrooms.
It is important to distinguish between the two products, however. The FDA clearance cited in the announcement applies to the XK300 medical device. The company does not state that Somily itself has received FDA clearance.
What Xandar Kardian Says About the Future of Contactless Health Monitoring
Xandar Kardian CEO and co-founder Sam Yang believes consumer health technology needs to move beyond simply giving people more numbers.
He argues that breathing and heartbeat measurements become more useful when people can understand the physical patterns behind them.
Yang also points to the difference between knowing a person’s average breathing rate and understanding whether their breathing was shallow, deep, regular, or uneven throughout the night.
The company believes radar can make this information accessible without requiring people to wear devices or change their sleeping habits.
Cardiologist Dr. Clifton Watt, MD, FACC, of UCSF, also commented on the technology. He noted that cardiologists traditionally learn about heart activity by monitoring the chest, rather than relying exclusively on wrist measurements.
He described the ability to observe how clearly and regularly heartbeat movement appears across a night, without attaching leads to a patient or requiring someone to remain in the room, as a different kind of overnight record.
These comments reflect the potential of contactless monitoring, although the announcement does not provide independent clinical validation of Somily’s consumer measurements.
Somily Price, Membership, and Availability
You can make orders for Somily through its Kardian’s official website.
The device costs $299 and includes two years of Kardian Max membership at no additional monthly charge during that period.
The company also says Somily is eligible for Health Savings Account (HSA) and Flexible Spending Account (FSA) purchases for qualified customers in the United States.
Couples who want to monitor both sides of a bed can use two sensors, with one mounted above each side.
