safe@home is looking at you!
A safe house for single senior citizens
For example, according to the German Federal Bureau of Statistics, 70% of such people simply do not want to be in an unfamiliar environment and continue to live independently for as long as possible.
But loneliness is far from safe. About 30% of people over the age of 60 have fallen at home at least once a year, and among those over 80, this figure exceeds 40%. Once on the floor, the elderly are not always able to get up or call for help. Therefore, many hours and even a day pass before their detection. And, alas, sometimes it's too late.
Of course, there are special alarm systems – for example, wearable sensors with an alarm button and special sensors integrated into the floor that record the moment of the fall. But both notification methods have drawbacks. So, wearable sensors are prone to false positives; besides, elderly people very often forget to take them with them. And the touch panels in the floor are just expensive.
And so the specialists of the Fraunhofer Institute of Mechanical Engineering and Automation (Germany) proposed a more efficient and reliable system, which they called safe@home. Its main element is a sensor unit mounted on the ceiling. It is equipped with sensitive optical and acoustic sensors to track the location of a person in the room and his movements.
The safe@home system (image of the Fraunhofer Institute).
The system is able to detect the fact of a fall in a few seconds. If after that there are no signs of movement for some time, safe@home activates an alarm via the CareBox communication unit. This device can make a call to a pre-set mobile or landline phone number, as well as ask for help via the Internet. Finally, you can activate CareBox with a voice command.
Protection against false positives is also provided. If the system detects a fall, it will first try to call the number of the owner of the dwelling. In this case, the owner will be able to pick up the phone and cancel the alarm call.
Since mid-2012, safe@home has been undergoing round-the-clock testing in small nursing homes, where emergency situations are periodically simulated. The system has proven itself on the good side, showing high efficiency and a minimum level of inconvenience for guests.
It is expected that the commercial version of safe@home will appear this year. There is no information about its approximate price yet.
Prepared based on the materials of the Fraunhofer Institute: Helping preserve independent living.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru05.02.2014