Senior Safety

Don't waste the economic stimulus dollars on healthcare.

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Basic idea is this :

Extend on the RF2500 demo kit based on the MSP430. This kit has a target board powered by batteries. the host board is connected to a PC through USB. The demo target board has only a temp sensor. When the demo app is run on the PC, it shows the temperatures on the target and the host boards. The target board needs to be within 50 meters of the host.

Application :

Save healthcare costs by preventing injuries from falls. Target market is fall-prone individuals - mostly elderly

Concept :

Have multiple target boards that interface to accelerometers that report an event to the host when the acceleration exceeds a certain value. These can be located on the person of the user. The host processor can decide if a fall is happening. The user will also be tracked by a couple of robots in a Roomba-like form- factor, which are programmed to stay within a prescribed distance from the user. One will be in front and the other behind. These units contain air-bags that can be deployed in a suitable way to prevent injury in the event of a fall. If the host processor detects a fall condition, it can deploy the airbags to prevent an injury.

The idea is basically simple, but it would require a fair bit of programming and system partitioning for practicality.