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Two New Electronic Safety Devices Aimed at Senior
Safety
Tiny digital camera monitors room sends signal alert
to caregiver
Feb. 14, 2005 Two products aimed at increased
security for senior citizens were introduced at a national show on
emerging technology today. One is a pendant that detects a fall and
triggers and alert. The second is a tiny digital camera embedded in a
light switch to view activity in a room.
"Most technology companies seem to have a big blind
spot when it comes to addressing the senior market, said Chris Shipley,
executive producer of DEMO@15, which is billed as the launching pad for
the world's most promising new technologies.
San Francisco-based Lusora Inc. introduced the new
products at the Scottsdale, Arizona, conference. Their wireless personal
security products are, they say, designed to protect the independent
lifestyle desired by so many older Americans.
The company's Lusora Intelligent Sensory
Architecture (LISA) enables seniors to stay in constant contact with
relatives or care-providers via a Web interface that delivers data
gathered from Lusora's patent-pending wireless sensor devices.
Lusora is one of the few that's planning ahead for
the imminent explosion in the number of seniors and is developing
products that will give seniors one of the things they want most -- the
ability to continue living in their own homes, said Shipley"
Lusora's LISA is a wireless personal security
system that leverages the latest technologies to safeguard homes and
families. The system has three main components: remote wireless sensor
devices, a central hub that controls the devices and a Web-based remote
viewing platform from which to program the devices and monitor the data
they transmit.
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The company says its technology solves a number of the installation,
power and reliability problems associated with traditional wired
security and monitoring systems by using the newly adopted ZigBee
wireless protocol. ZigBee supports applications where being wired is
impossible or impractical and where ultra low power and low cost is a
requirement.
Lusora's light-switch camera and personal alert
pendant, along with other LISA sensors placed throughout the home can be
programmed individually through the LISA Viewing Platform to monitor the
unique habits of the person or people living there. For example, if a
bedroom door is not opened within a particular timeframe that is normal
for the person, an alert can automatically be sent to the care-provider(s)
via the Web interface, cellular messaging or email.
Lusora's says its first product suite addresses one
of the most pressing issues of the century -- how to care for the
unprecedented number of seniors in the United States.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the first wave
of baby boomers will start turning 65 in 2011, and the number of seniors
in the United States will increase dramatically during the period 2010
to 2030. The older population is projected to be twice as large as in
2000, growing from 35 million to 71.5 million, or 20 percent of the U.S.
population.
"Lusora's technology is all about communication and
community. We've done our best to make the technology invisible by
embedding it into everyday devices that everyday people who don't have a
lot of technical skill can easily set up and depend upon to provide
constant and reliable information about their home and family members,
particularly the seniors in their lives," said Dan Bauer, co-founder of
Lusora.
The Lusora Intelligent Sensory Architecture (LISA)
includes the following three main components:
LISA Sensor Devices -- The LISA Pendant is a
wearable device that includes an emergency panic alarm, tracking device
and automatic fall sensor. The device has sophisticated electronics for
measuring sudden gravitational changes such as those experienced in a
fall. The device can be calibrated to prevent false alarms.
The LISA Light-Switch Camera contains a miniature
camera, passive infrared detector and audio, all integrated into the
light-switch housing. This allows visual monitoring in any room without
the need for camera mountings or extra electrical wiring. The cameras
can be programmed to operate continuously, or turn on only when they
receive instructions from the LISA pendant.
-- The LISA Tag, which is approximately the size of
a credit card, monitors activity such as motion and temperature changes.
Typically, tags are placed on doors and windows throughout the home or
residential care unit, as well as key places in the house such as
medicine cabinets and refrigerators to measure for specific usage. The
device has tiny sensors that detect any movement from the tag itself, or
infrared from a human moving near the tag. Each tag uses a lithium
battery and is designed for 3-5 years usage
LISA Hub
The LISA Hub acts as the intelligent controller for
all of the sensor devices and communicates with the LISA viewing
platform. The hub controls each sensor device and allows for two-way
communication of voice and data across the local ZigBee wireless
network, local WiFi network (if present) and the encrypted Internet
uplink. The hub allows for a choice of communications possibilities from
DSL/cable to WiFI or GPRS/paging options.
LISA Viewing Platform
The remote viewing platform is a Web-based
interface that allows caregivers to control, adjust and monitor the LISA
hub and sensor devices. Simple rules-based systems can quickly be
configured to allow for automated care procedures.
About Lusora, Inc.
Lusora Inc. develops wireless personal security
solutions and monitoring products. Lusora is at the forefront in the
deployment of smart sensors for security, surveillance and health care
applications. Lusora (http://www.lusora.com/)
is a privately held company based in San Francisco, California.
High-resolution photographs of the LISA Sensor Devices are available at
http://www.lusora.com/pressroom/photos.
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