April 9, 2013. Save a Senior, an Orlando-based startup, has launched a new home technology that uses artificial intelligence and advanced sensors to automatically protect senior citizens who live by themselves. The system monitors their activity, learns their habits and routines, and is able to detect patterns that indicate a fall or loss of consciousness. If a dangerous situation is detected, a personalized response protocol is activated, and help is on the way.
According to U.S. Census Bureau data, over 11 million senior citizens live alone in their homes, and of these 824,389 live in the state of Florida. As they grow older the risks of falling or suffering an accident increase alarmingly. Not only is this a serious worry for their families, who often live far away, but if no one can hear their cries for help the situation quickly becomes life threatening.
Designed specifically for seniors who live alone, the Save a Senior system solves this problem in a nonintrusive way. The solution includes a series of infrared, pressure, and magnetic sensors, which are installed in the senior’s home and are connected wirelessly to a central processing unit. Thanks to a patented artificial intelligence algorithm, the system silently learns the senior’s daily routines and compares their activity with patterns that could indicate a fall or loss of consciousness.
Dennis Lewis, CEO of Save a Senior, explained, “Too many times a senior who lives alone will suffer a fall and no one is there to hear their cries for help. They may have a pendant-based emergency button, but often it’s out of reach or they aren’t able to activate it. Our technology solves this problem, because no human intervention is required.
“Since the Save a Senior technology doesn’t use microphones or cameras the senior’s privacy is completely guaranteed, and all the data collected by the system stays in the home. Only in the case of an emergency does the processing unit communicate with our specialized call center, which initiates a personalized response protocol.”
According to Lewis, “Save a Senior is much more than just a new technology. We have combined both hardware and software to improve our customers’ quality of life and their family’s peace of mind. They can rest assured that if something goes wrong help is on its way Every year one out of six seniors will suffer a fall, and we expect our technology to save over 16,600 seniors in three years.”