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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.
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.