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Documents Help Us Put the IoT in Innovation: Part 2, Nodes
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  • Author Author: spannerspencer
  • Date Created: 2 Jun 2016 10:33 AM Date Created
  • Last Updated Last Updated: 6 Oct 2021 8:50 PM
  • Views 1567 views
  • Likes 4 likes
  • Comments 11 comments
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Help Us Put the IoT in Innovation: Part 2, Nodes

Calling all InnOvaTors!

 

imageTwo weeks ago we shone the bright light of innovation in your eyes and quizzed you thoroughly on your process for designing an IoT solution. Now we're back, and asking you to elaborate on the nodes and sensors that would act as the eyes and ears of your Internet of Things platform.

 

Looking Back at Workflow

The results of our look at that InnOvaTors workflow has been a treasure trove of inventive direction.

 

"I'd want to intimately get to know what information is valuable, and to whom the information is valuable," shabaz explained in regard to his IoT design approach. "Determine the overall goal in detail and determine the actual information or results that would be needed to make this a success."

 

Instructorman advised that we must "Keep scalability in mind. The solution should work well for a single user and for the tens of millions of other users too," while beacon_dave sees two distinct angles reveal themselves during his design process; active and reactive requirements.

 

Now we're off on the journey, let's take a much closer look at the first leg of the InnOvaTors race; Nodes.

 

First, here's a quick reminder of the scenario your IoT solution is working to solve.

 

Design a Home Patient Monitoring System with Notification and Alert Capabilities

Background

Among the numerous types of innovations that are expected to be fostered by Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, smart-connected healthcare solutions will perhaps be the most important one for millions of elderly people who live alone. In the UK 3.5 million people over the age of 65 live alone, and almost 70% of the women in this age group. The U.S has a similar trend with 11.8 million, and nearly half of the women over the age of 75 living alone.

 

This number is expected to increase as the growth in people over age 65 is projected to double from 43.1 million in 2012 to 83.7 million in 2050, according to the U.S Census Bureau. Whether an elderly person lives alone by choice or necessity, this living arrangement can pose a potential health risk as physical and cognitive impairment becomes evident.

Your Challenge: Helping a Stroke Patient Who Falls

A typical example of the challenge that the elderly face while living alone is Mrs. Jones. She is 79 years-old and has been living alone successfully for ten years since her husband passed away. While she has not had any problems during this period of time, Mrs. Jones recently suffered a minor stroke that led to numbness in her extremities and an overall weakness in strength but did not appear to be life-changing until she began losing her balance and falling in her apartment

 

Mrs. Jones’s daughter suggested to her mother that it was time to consider moving into a nursing home for safety’s sake. Mrs. Jones dismissed the idea out of a desire to remain independent. Her daughter discussed this situation with Mrs. Jones's doctor who said her options were limited. Beyond a live-in caregiver, home nurse visits, or home monitoring systems, which had limited benefits as they are currently designed, there was little else to do.

 

Common Sensors

image

The design process is in place, so now it's time to get specific. Help us flesh out the sensor side of things by telling us what you'd use, and how you'd use it. Consider the following:

  • What kinds of sensors and nodes would you employ here?
  • How will the nodes or sensors be powered?
  • What type of connectivity will be used?

 

In the comments section below, we'd like to hear your thoughts and advice on the sensor side of an IoT solution. The advice, ideas and direction you provide here will ultimately wind up in front of suppliers, manufacturers and industry leaders at this year's Elektronica show, so don't hold back!

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  • Workshopshed
    Workshopshed over 9 years ago +1
    I can see two options, monitor the person or monitor the house. For the latter you could go for a camera/AI approach and which could be trained to look for people on the ground or knocked over furniture…
  • rscasny
    rscasny over 9 years ago in reply to shabaz +1
    I like your thought about building in intelligence the node/gateway to processing close to the source. My concern would be more power consumption.
  • dougw
    dougw over 9 years ago +1
    A) The things we want to know in this situation are: Where is the person What is the problem What is the status of the person - posture, vital signs, stress, etc. B) The things we want to do are: Notify…
  • rscasny
    rscasny over 8 years ago

    Help Us Put the IoT in Innovation: Part 3, Gateway

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  • beacon_dave
    beacon_dave over 8 years ago

    This project may be of interest.

     

    SPHERE - a Sensor Platform for HEalthcare in a Residential Environment

    About :: SPHERE

     

    "SPHERE has developed a number of different sensors that will combine to build a picture of how we live in our homes. This information can then be used to spot issues that might indicate a medical or well-being problem.

    The technology could help in the following ways:
    •Characterise the sedentary behaviour that is linked to so many conditions.
    •Detect correlations between factors such as diet and sleep.
    •Measure changes in movement, posture and patterns of movement over months.
    •Analyse eating behaviour - including whether people are taking prescribed medication
    •Detect periods of depression or anxiety and intervene using a computer based therapy
    •Predict falls and detect strokes so that help may be summoned"

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  • dougw
    dougw over 9 years ago

    A) The things we want to know in this situation are:

    1. Where is the person
    2. What is the problem
    3. What is the status of the person - posture, vital signs, stress, etc.

    B) The things we want to do are:

    1. Notify the right people
    2. Provide triage assistance until help arrives
    3. Let the person know that help is on the way

    A1 - Location system - something like Open Beacon RFID tracking system is feasible

    A2 - detecting a problem is mostly about knowing location and posture and time or duration.

    A2  and A3 - The best way to determine what happened is for the person to tell us, so we need to bring a cell phone to the person, having already placed a call to an appropriate responder. If the person cannot talk, we need to use the phone's camera to show the situation. The phone's camera and sensors can tell us a lot about the persons state of health. These requirements need a phone on a robot, able to navigate to the person.

    B1 and B3 are also covered by the cell phone, but it can also be sending emails, texts, voice messages and pictures to other stakeholders.

    B2 - A "triage" robot could do a lot of things to help until a responder arrives - depending on the development budget:

    • it could bring a first aid kit or a pillow or something to drink or painkillers or oxygen or medication
    • it could be told where to provide force
    • it could be remotely controlled by a responder

    The person only needs to be wearing an RFID beacon with a help button on it and a posture sensor, everything else is handled by a cell phone and a robot.

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  • Workshopshed
    Workshopshed over 9 years ago

    IoTUK and Digital Catapult Centre Brighton have identified a growing number of companies that are creating IoT solutions for the care sector.

     

    Working in partnership, IoTUK and Digital Catapult Centre Brighton are hosting a clinic which will bring a number of care homes and carers together in one venue at the same time to explain their challenges to SMEs. Throughout the day a number of workshops will take place to explore these challenges in more detail.

     

    https://iotuk.org.uk/care-clinic/

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  • rscasny
    rscasny over 9 years ago in reply to shabaz

    I like your thought about building in intelligence the node/gateway to processing close to the source. My concern would be more power consumption.

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  • rscasny
    rscasny over 9 years ago in reply to Workshopshed

    Interesting. What would you use to control the camera?

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  • rscasny
    rscasny over 9 years ago in reply to Robert Peter Oakes

    Peter,

     

    thanks for the comment. I was looking at NXP's sensor hub and was interested in how it compared to Ti's senshub in practical application. They both look similar. And they feature sensor fusion which seems like would be used in this instance. Have you used NXP? How did it compare to Ti?

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  • rscasny
    rscasny over 9 years ago

    There's a product out on the market that can sense an elderly person's fall. You have to wear a belt that has airbags within it. When the person falls, airbags deploy. It's for hip protection. But I think it unwieldy. I'm not sure most people would wear it. Although it is one approach to the problem.

     

    Here's another product that says it is a remote monitoring system. You set up sensors around the house; no cameras for privacy. It has a web interface. But it seems like more an after-the-fact monitor.

     

    One of my family's problems dealing with my mother's falls is that it occurred when Mom got out of bed and presumably grabbed her walker. It happened at night and for some reason she could not (or did not) call for help. We found her in the morning.

     

    Food for thought, I guess.

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  • shabaz
    shabaz over 9 years ago

    I would be super-inclined to do as much as possible passively or without wearables, to try and reduce patient error (e.g. forgetting to wear a device).

    Perhaps this isn't entirely possible, for example heart rate measurements may be necessary if the product requirements demand it (i.e. if this is a thing doctors would suggest monitoring).

    There are likely to be off-the-shelf devices intended for strapping on a human to transmit heart rate data (e.g. for sports purposes or medical purposes). Silicon Labs has some sensors that could be used to create a custom device. There are also plenty of consumer devices like Fit-Bit and Basis that use such sensors. The MPU-9150 that Robert Peter Oakes mentions is a very nice, easy-to-use part and such a sensor

    fusion/mash-up can provide quite a lot usable data that could be processed into something useful. NXP also has such 'sensor fusion' devices.

     

    I'd also want intelligence within the nodes or the gateway, so that processing / filtering of data can be done close to the source.

    This becomes feasible because computing has become low cost. It opens up the possibility to use all sorts of sensors, for example  a single thermistor placed inside a room can easily detect

    temperature fluctuations when doors are opened or closed. But it takes processing to convert the fluctuations into a decision that there is actual human movement within the home and not just the home heating switching on, or a draft occurring through a window.

     

    But I'd probably consider thermal sensor arrays such as the Panasonic Grid-EYE - these can easily spot human body temperature and with some processing can be used to determine human movement

    within a home, and the processing could possibly could even provide sufficient determination to indicate a fall.

    In general I feel that such thermal array sensors are like a 'swiss army knife' and can be used to solve a lot of problems, not just in the home patient monitoring field.

     

    Video cameras and software including OpenCV can be used to determine the presence humans, movement or certain other conditions (such as a fall).

     

    In terms of connectivity, sub-1GHz wireless can reliably function throughout a home and garden, and modern devices (like TI's CCxxxx series) can be powered on and off near-instantaneously with little time required to be transmission-ready. It would be a preferred technology for me. They operate from battery-friendly power levels when transmitting. By reducing the need for wearables, there is reduced need to operate them exclusively from batteries.

     

    In terms of WAN connectivity 4G/LTE could be highly attractive since a normal mobile phone could be used. Many elderly patients do own a phone, and do know to keep it charged and running. This may not always be feasible (some may be in the habit of powering it off when they are not making a call for instance) so an alternative could be a DSL connection.

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  • Workshopshed
    Workshopshed over 9 years ago

    I can see two options, monitor the person or monitor the house.  For the latter you could go for a camera/AI approach and which could be trained to look for people on the ground or knocked over furniture. If a problem is detected a carer could be notified.

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