SAFE HOME: Monitoring system for Lone Elderly People – IIEST Innovation

A group of researchers affiliated to Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering and Centre for Healthcare Science and technology have designed an innovative way of ensuring a safe home for elderly people.

It has been felt for some time in the society that all the advancements in technology have not been passed on to elderly people who feel all the more lonely in this digital age. Therefore the group started with the objectives of monitoring the regular activities using sensor nodes (no camera included) at important locations, further assessing abnormal behavior by interpreting the information of the sensor nodes using an intelligent controller. This was to be followed by communicating the message to the mobile phones of caretakers.

The work has also included power saving algorithms incorporated to minimize the energy consumption. Sensor nodes developed are light weight, portable and easy to install. It is also capable of automatic refreshing of memory after 16th day of installation for continuous use while emergency situation is assessed and message sent to the caretaker through mobile phone. The user does not have to keep track of the operation of the instrument. Health status of the sensor nodes and the central controller is checked at regular intervals and message sent to the maintenance person if required. The sensor is composed of PIR motion sensors, current transformers, central controller unit with LCD interface, ATMEGA 328 microcontroller, and 2.4GHz ZigBee wireless transmission.

The institute wishes to fulfill an important societal need with such works.