Progress on fall sensors for GRaCE-Age

A major health hazard for older people is the risk of falling. Not only are falls more common in people as they age, they can also do significant damage. One challenge facing GRaCE-Age in keeping older people independent for long is the monitoring and managing falls.

Members of the GRaCE-AGE team at KU Leuven are developing a radar sensor, controlled by the Raspberry Pi microcomputer, to be used in the home to detect falls and report the event to GRaCE-Age software. This is a significant step in the automated management of the day-to-day hazards facing older people.

In 2017, members of the GRaCE-Age team attended the IMWS-Bio conference, the International Microwave Symposium, and the European Microwave Conference. Here they were able to meet and learn from researchers working with
similar technologies.

Designs for housing of the internal components

The sensors are currently undergoing testing, after which the results will be collated and analysed. Additional work is ongoing in developing the housing for the internal components of the sensor system: the current design encases components in a box 12x8in in size, pictured.