OAP Fall Alert Design Assistance Please

[Marvo]

This isn't really an electrical issue as such but I know you guys are pretty tech savvy and familiar with all the latest and greatest newfandangled gadets so I'd like some help coming up with a solution to a problem please.

My dad is knocking on in years (90) and he lives alone in a two storey house in the UK, he's suffering mobility problems with his hips and knees and has recently started needing a walking stick to get around. His bedroom is upstairs so he obviously needs to go up and down stairs at least once a day. The worry is that the stairs are the most likely place for him to fall and maybe get stranded on the floor.

A few things about him that might be relevant;
He's a stubborn old goat (he's about a 12 on a scale of 1-10 of stubbornness) and there's no ways he'll move his bedroom to the ground floor.
He doesn't and won't carry around a mobile device, he leaves his phone and ipad in the lounge.
He lives alone with only family visiting and there's no pets.
He won't wear one of the fall-alert bracelets....believe me, we've tried.
There is 24/7 wi-fi in the house that runs at some unbelievably blisteringly fast speed.

I'm looking for an item or system that could be installed in the house rather than on the old goat himself. I'd like it to involve as little wiring as possible and it should require zero or as close to zero as possible input from the OG. My initial thoughts were to fit 3x wi-fi sensors at the bottom, middle and top of the staircase itself. The sensors would each have an associated receiver and these could be linked to a simple controller with an 'alarm' output. The controller would activate the alarm if the sensor signals didn't occur in the correct order or within a given time period.

The sensors I envisaged would be similar to those outdoor alarm beams where there's a sensor at one end and a reflector at the other, just smaller and short range. The controller I'm not sure about. I'd probably throw a small PLC at it but only because that's what I work with on a regular basis. Maybe there's something more elegant already available off the shelf?

I realise there's one or two problems with my plan. If the old goat goes half way up the stairs and changes his mind and goes back down again it's going to nuisance trigger the alarm so possibly a 2 stage alarm where it's a local buzzer first then if it's not reset it sends an SMS to my sister. There would need to be timing built in to accomodate each sensor possibly being triggered twice in quick sucession, once by each leg if they're near ground level.

I'd be interested to know any comments or how you might approach this issue.

 

[DPG]

It's a shame he won't wear a fall detector pendant - the algorithms are pretty good these days.

You could also consider pressure mats on strategic places. Other things to consider are door sensors so that you know if he has been in the food cupboard, etc. Once you have all the sensors set up then you would need to get an idea of trends over a period of weeks/months to get an idea of what 'normal' is, and then look out for things that are out of step with the norm.

 

[Spoon]

I got one of these Blink Mini cameras ( Link ) to monitor one of out 3d printers.
You could have one of these looking over the stairs. You could set it up to notify someone each time he uses the stairs just use it when your own sensor system notifies someone.
It's free to use once you have bought it, and easy to set up. (You get a free month where they can store clips but you don't need that as you are like me and just need it to view a live feed.)

 

[pc1966]

I feel your pain

Could you have an emergency pull-cord running down the side of the stairs so if he is still able and had ended up on the stirs he could pull a on cord running the length of the stairs at 10cm or so higher for assistance?

The webcam viewing the stairs is another good idea. OG might not approve but if its only family viewing its not such a big deal. I presume some cameras have movement detection so would ping someone each time somebody in in that area so a quick mobile phone check can be done that OG managed them OK.

 

[Lister1987]

I take it the local authority offering is a necklace pendant and phone/base station and won't be worn? I'm sure I've seen one that is the size of a watch, might be worth looking at? Does he wear a watch, could you convince him to?

 

[ferg]

We've got a similar issue with level 12 stubborn in the family so I feel your pain.

In the end due to a number of reasons the only viable option was to chip away at the reluctance after falls.

Reality finally set in but still bracelets etc don't get worn all the time.

The most difficult thing for us was accepting that we could only help when permitted to.
It's most definitely a work in progress and a constant source of worry.

 

[Spoon]

I presume some cameras have movement detection so would ping someone each time somebody in in that area so a quick mobile phone check can be done

The camera I linked has this function.

 

[littlespark]

Whatever you decide to do, don’t explain to him how it works…. He’ll either deliberately set it off, or rig it to not work

These old codgers can be surprisingly inventive when they want to be.

 

[loz2754]

This new gadget can detect if someone has fallen down. Might be worth a look...(from about 9 mins 40 secs in)

 

[Marvo]

Thanks for the suggstions, there's definately some food for thought.

I'm not sure if the local council have offered him any pendant, it was just the first solution I suggested was something wearable during the family discussion. The consensus of opinion is that he won't cooperate with anything wearable and I'm inclined to agree. I can also say with certainty he won't want cameras or anything that looks, sounds or smells like a camera.

I'm shying away from the smart home based options because the setup can be a bit onerous and someone is going to have to run, maintain and update the app. If I lived in the UK I'd be happy to do that but being in South Africa I'm not keen. Many of them involve monthly payments and it's not unknown for entire hardware ranges to become orphaned when a company goes bankrupt or simply declares them as no longer maintained. I've personally got no experience of smart home systems and neither does any of the immediate family in the UK. There's also no smart system existing in the house either so it would need to be done from the groud up rather than as a simple addition or reconfiguration of an existing setup. That said, if there's a smart app based option that's bullet proof, extremely simple to install and setup, doesn't require cabling of electrical power points or CAT5 for sensors and it's cheap then it would be in the running.

 

[James]

perhaps some intruder alarm sensors that send signals to a cheep plc?
you would need to develop a set of rules that suit.
such as if the hall detector is triggered then start a timer (5 min?) if timer completes before any of the detectors in adjoining areas such as lounge or kitchen etc. have been triggered then set alarm status.
it would be a pain to set up and not an elegant solution.

 

[littlespark]

might be cheaper and easier to get a stairlift so going up down stairs is easier.

I would imagine there are thousands of people in the same position.... either living in an unsuitable house because they cant afford to move, or don't want to admit that they need extra help.

 

[Marvo]

perhaps some intruder alarm sensors that send signals to a cheep plc?
you would need to develop a set of rules that suit.
such as if the hall detector is triggered then start a timer (5 min?) if timer completes before any of the detectors in adjoining areas such as lounge or kitchen etc. have been triggered then set alarm status.
it would be a pain to set up and not an elegant solution.

Yeah, this was pretty much what I was describing in the opening post. It's not elegant but it's familiar territory for me so I don't mind the complexity issue. The upside to this solution will be that it won't need an administrator or maintenance once it's set up and functioning plus I've got all sorts of stock and even recovered second hand components so it will probably be cheap. The down side is that the sensors will all need wiring installing which I was hoping to avoid.

 

[KWCFC]

An Ajax alarm system might help.

Can get sensors with cameras built in to look at the stairs and ping you whenever there's any motion with a screenshot. That way you don't even have to tell him there's cameras, just tell him its an intruder alarm.

The main HUB only needs to be plugged in to the mains and and an ethernet connection to the router.

No extra charges for the app.