Somniia Monitor: a new frontier in sleep monitoring from space research
An innovative mask with applications for both space missions and everyday life, funded by the Italian Space Agency and developed by the Italian Institute of Technology
image: SOMNIIA MONITOR is a mask designed to be worn during sleep, integrating a range of advanced sensors capable of collecting essential information about the body’s functioning during sleep.
Credit: Umberto Raganato
Rome, Lecce (Italy) May 8th, 2026 – Understanding how we sleep, both in Space and on Earth, is a crucial challenge for human health and performance. This need gave rise to SOMNIIA MONITOR, a project funded by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and coordinated by the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT-Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia), which led to the development of an intelligent mask capable of analyzing sleep accurately, simply, and non-invasively.
At the heart of the initiative is the strategic role of ASI, which promoted and supported the project with a dual objective: to develop technologies useful for space missions and make them transferable to everyday life. A key contribution came from the project partners, who developed the device under the coordination of the Center for Biomolecular Nanotechnologies of the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Lecce: the Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences of the University of Bologna, the Department of Innovation Engineering of the University of Salento, and CETMA.
SOMNIIA MONITOR takes the form of a mask designed to be worn during sleep, integrating a range of advanced sensors capable of collecting essential information about the body’s functioning during sleep. These include sensors for heart rate and breathing, temperature and movement sensors, and electrodes for recording brain activity.
The data are analyzed by artificial intelligence algorithms capable of automatically recognizing the different sleep stages (wakefulness, light sleep, deep sleep, and REM sleep) and building a complete picture of sleep quality, even in complex operational conditions such as those encountered in space. A distinctive feature of the system is the use of piezoelectric sensors developed by IIT, which enable non-invasive monitoring of breathing, cardiac activity, and eye movements, increasing user comfort and reducing the complexity of traditional procedures.
Building on previous in-orbit experimentation activities, SOMNIIA MONITOR offers an excellent opportunity for testing aboard the International Space Station (ISS) as part of future missions. This prospect would make it possible to directly test the technology in real microgravity conditions, contributing to the study of astronauts’ sleep and to the development of tools for health protection during long-duration missions. Monitoring astronauts’ sleep is essential: in Space, the absence of a natural day-night cycle, microgravity, and environmental conditions can profoundly alter rest, with direct effects on attention, decision-making abilities, and mission safety.
“Today, astronaut health is an absolute priority, especially in view of the future long-duration missions of the Moon to Mars program,” commented Amy Amata Soriano, SOMNIIA MONITOR Project Manager at the Italian Space Agency. “This project represents a concrete example of synergy between the Agency and Italian research institutes such as IIT within the framework of future space missions, with positive impacts also on everyday life on Earth.”
“The value of SOMNIIA MONITOR lies not only in the device itself, but in the technological and systemic approach that makes it possible. At IIT, we work on the integration of nanotechnologies, advanced sensing systems, and computational models to build platforms capable of continuously and reliably acquiring and interpreting complex biological signals. This project and the partners involved represent an example of how interdisciplinary expertise can converge into high-tech solutions, opening new perspectives in the understanding of physiological mechanisms and in the development of diagnostic and predictive tools for health,” commented Massimo De Vittorio, Head of the Smart Healthcare Technologies laboratory at IIT in Lecce.
In addition to its space applications, the developed technology also holds strong potential on Earth and may be used for monitoring sleep disorders, preventing pathologies related to sleep alteration, and developing telemedicine and remote monitoring services.