Floor Pressure Monitoring for Fall and Occupancy Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing property monitoring systems lack effective means to dynamically monitor and respond to changes in floor activity, such as falls or unusual occupancy patterns, which can lead to delayed responses in safety and security situations.
Innovation Solution
A monitoring system that includes floor sensors to detect pressure changes and a control unit to analyze data, enabling actions like alerting caregivers or adjusting property settings based on detected anomalies, such as falls or excessive occupancy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional monitoring systems are used without floor sensors, then the system complexity is low, but the ability to detect falls and occupancy changes is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines floor contact sensors with existing monitoring systems to create an integrated solution. The floor sensors are merged with motion sensors, cameras, and other property monitoring devices to provide comprehensive fall detection and occupancy monitoring, thereby improving detection accuracy while distributing system complexity across multiple coordinated components.
Solution Approach 2:
The monitoring system is designed to perform multiple functions: fall detection, occupancy monitoring, gait analysis, and weight measurement. By creating a universal system that handles various monitoring tasks through the integration of floor sensors with existing property monitoring infrastructure, the system achieves high reliability without proportionally increasing complexity.
2Measurement precision
If floor sensors are added to detect pressure changes, then fall detection capability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The floor sensing system is divided into discrete sensor modules that can be independently installed and calibrated. Each floor sensor unit measures pressure at specific locations, and the control unit processes data from multiple segmented sensors to determine falls, occupancy, and gait patterns. This segmentation allows for scalable deployment and simplified maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit serves as an intermediary that processes raw pressure data from floor sensors and translates it into meaningful information about falls, occupancy, and gait. The intermediary processing layer filters noise, identifies patterns, and coordinates with other monitoring systems, thereby managing the complexity of pressure detection precision requirements.
3Speed
If the system continuously monitors floor activity, then safety response time is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs periodic sampling of floor sensor data rather than continuous monitoring. The control unit checks for changes in pressure patterns at intervals sufficient to detect falls and occupancy changes while allowing the system to enter low-power states between measurements. This periodic action maintains safety response capability while reducing overall energy consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The monitoring system automatically detects anomalies such as falls or unusual occupancy patterns and triggers alerts without requiring continuous human supervision. The system self-manages the monitoring process, activating full detection modes only when changes are detected, thereby improving response speed for critical events while conserving energy during normal operation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances safety by automatically alerting authorities in case of falls and optimizing property operations by dynamically adjusting settings based on occupancy and activity patterns.
Implementation Method 1
a floor sensor that is configured to generate floor sensor data that indicates an amount of pressure applied to a portion of a floor of the property
Data Source
AI summary
A monitoring system that is configured to monitor a property is disclosed. The monitoring system includes a sensor that is configured to generate sensor data that indicates an attribute of the property; a floor sensor that is configured to generate floor sensor data that indicates an amount of pressure applied to a portion of a floor of the property; and a monitor control unit. The monitor control unit is configured to receive, from the sensor, the sensor data; receive, from the floor sensor, the floor sensor data; analyze the sensor data and the floor sensor data; and based on analyzing the sensor data and the floor sensor data, perform a monitoring system action.