Automated ‘Intelligent’ Houses Help Elderly Stay In Homes Longer

People are living longer and longer. Today, over 40 million EU citizens are over 65 years of age, and by 2050, this figure will have doubled.  Many older people would ideally like to remain in their own homes – even if they are frail and regularly need assistance.

In the future, automated homes, intelligent environments, modern sensor systems, and information technology can help elderly to live autonomously in their own homes. These systems remind residents to regularly take their medicine, for example, or send out an alert if someone falls. The technology remains discreetly in the background – until it is needed.

Ambient Emergency Detection – Safety for Autonomous Living

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering IESE in Kaiserslautern, Germany, are creating these intelligent environments.  The scientists are developing information technology concepts for a system that collects detailed environment information via a network of numerous, unobtrusively installed sensors that analyze and respond to specific situations. “Through this technique we make the environment intelligent.  Using many hidden sensors, the system monitors the daily routine of the occupants,” Dr. Martin Becker, Head of the Research Department “Ambient Assisted Living” at IESE, explains. “Risks can be detected and it is possible to assess whether the situation appears to be deteriorating, or most importantly, whether an emergency exists.”

One particular challenge is to develop a system that not only functions safely and reliably, but also continuously adapts to changing requirements. New assistance services and devices can easily be integrated into the system, such as motion detectors or pressure sensors in the mattress. The sensors automatically report their data via wireless communication to a control center concealed in a cabinet. If so desired, functions of the sensor can be manually controlled by a computer screen on the nightstand. Should users prefer not to concern themselves with the technology, they can leave everything to the system, which operates autonomously. The system can also detect whether an occupant has fallen, communicate this information via telephone or Internet to a pre-selected contact person. This may be a relative, a neighbor, a care facility, or an emergency medical center.

Read more . . .

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Tags: assistance services, elderly, experimental software engineering, fraunhofer institute, information technology concepts, Innovation, intelligent environments, martin becker, motion detectors, pressure sensors, sensor systems

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 22nd, 2009 at 9:16 pm and is filed under Innovation, Science Digest / Science Daily. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.