In a Phase I grant, Amron showed the feasibility of a Home Monitor to extend the period of independence of elderly persons. The Home Monitor collects data from simple sensors connected to ordinary objects to form and transmit alarms for falls, tap water and stove on too long, unusual activity and inactivity. It will include an interactive pill dispenser, but no cameras, microphones or sensors on the inhabitants or their clothing. The Home Monitor contains a microcomputer, sensors connected to the microcomputer by radio links, and a telephone link with an outside caregiver. An emergency will result in an alarm in the home, which the user may shut off if she believes no real emergency exists. If she does not, then the alarm will go to the caregiver or to an emergency service. With the Home Monitor?s help, the elderly will be able to live alone longer than otherwise, because they will need less oversight by others. We will first test the Home Monitor Hardware in Amron's laboratory. Preliminary field tests will take place in homes in Alexandria, Virginia, followed by more extensive tests for reliability, probability of detection, and effects on users in Alexandria and Miami, FL.
The Home Monitor can be sold or rented to either individual users or institutions such as public or private senior housing or assisted living facilities. These facilities can use it to ensure their resident's safety and to allow them to remain there rather than moving into a less independent residence. The resulting savings are estimated to be in the tens of thousands of dollars per person per year.
