From sensor networks to behaviour profiling: a homecare perspective of intelligent buildings
Guang Zhong Yang · 2004
It is a well-known fact that due to improved medical treatments and other factors people are generally living longer. Whilst this may be considered beneficial, it also brings with it many problems; for example diseases such as osteo-arthritis and dementia are more likely to affect a person as they age. In many cases these diseases eventually cause the sufferer to become completely reliant upon social services, and can force them to give up their home and move into residential care or a nursing home. Technological developments of sensing and monitoring devices is now reshaping the general practice in clinical medicine. The development of ambient sensing technology can allow detailed level of activity information for the identification of both temporally and spatially daily living activities as such as eating, drinking, reading, resting or sleeping out of bed. Furthermore activity states related to emotion can be identified such as agitation, restlessness or pacing up and down. (7 pages)