Toilet manufacturer TOTO says its Wellness Toilet will monitor a user’s health when in use—even down to recommending which nutrients a user may need.
The company says its Wellness Toilet prototype marks the company’s entrance into the wellness sector. TOTO’s announcement came during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), and it says to expect the final product within the next several years.
“For more than 100 years, TOTO has been the pioneer in the plumbing industry, creating a new bathroom culture and contributing significantly to the evolution of the residential bathroom and the commercial restroom,” said Ryoji Nakamura, general manager of the TOTO Digital Innovation Division. “Now, as we enter the new digital era, TOTO is developing a brand new residential bathroom experience by utilizing digital technology in addition to our continuous product innovation.”
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The new toilet is a result of collaboration efforts between the toilet brand and experts throughout the globe using an open innovation model, according to Lenora Campos, senior manager of public relations. Open innovation breaks down the corporate barriers and allows for collaboration on research, no matter if they are a part of the company or not.
Every time a user sits on the Wellness Toilet, it analyzes the body and produces recommendations on how to improve a user’s wellness through the accompanying smartphone app. Such notifications could say a user has an unbalanced diet, but the app goes beyond just that. It will also suggest exact recipes to the user to add the needed nutrients. TOTO claims the toilet can even track and monitor a user’s mental status when in use.
The company says a toilet is the perfect way to monitor people’s wellness due to its frequent use and the manner in which it is used. There are several wellness monitoring devices on the market, but those devices need to be worn or weaved into a daily routine. Since toilets are a necessity and used frequently, consumers no longer need to worry about adding one more thing to their “to-do” list.
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Toilets also offer a different way to analyze a user’s health that no other product can: skin and waste. The Wellness Toilet will analyze output, and the company says there is a wealth of wellness data that can be collected from fecal matter.
In addition to its wellness-monitoring features, the toilet will be entirely touchless: opening when a user is near, cleaning through bidet functions, and flushing once a user walks away.
The goal of TOTO’s Wellness Toilet is to change a user’s lifestyle by encouraging healthy habits, ultimately resulting in an entirely new way of living. At CES, TOTO also teased the development of several other digital technology-focused products.