Project introduction ---

Senior Safety project tested monitoring systems for the living environments of the elderly

Artikkelikuva: Project introduction

The Senior Safety project developed and piloted a monitoring system that can anticipate dangerous situations in the living environments of older people. The solution combines data from home sensors to predict changes in the person’s wellbeing.

Objectives

The aim of the pilot solution was to increase the safety of living at home by providing timely information to caregivers or relatives. Any potentially dangerous situations are prevented by means of various notifications and alarms.

The proactive solution, based on data provided by a home sensor, creates security for clients, eases caregivers’ tasks and gives peace of mind to relatives.

The sensors are based on secure LoRa (Long Range) technology, which is specifically designed for IoT data transmission. They are easy to connect to the network and require little power, making them easy to deploy and reducing the need for maintenance.

The functional design of the Senior Safety solution was handled by project coordinator T.net. Politecnico di Milano is responsible for the interaction and user interface design of the product. The aim was to develop a product that meets the real needs of its end users, the design of which will be supported by interviews with care staff and users in the target group.

The product was piloted in Helsinki and Italy to gather user experiences. The pilot in Helsinki was carried out in cooperation with the City of Helsinki Social Services and Health Care Division.

The Senior Safety project video:

Duration, partners and funding

• The project will run from 1 January to 31 December 2022.
• The project is supported by EIT Digital
• It has a total budget of EUR 616,589, of which Forum Virium Helsinki’s share is EUR 128,250.
• In addition to Forum Virium Helsinki, the partners are T.net SpA (Italy) and Politecnico di Milano (Italy).

The role of Forum Virium Helsinki

Forum Virium Helsinki was responsible for the planning and practical implementation of the Helsinki pilot. The pilot was being carried out in close cooperation with the City of Helsinki Social Services and Health Care Division. The pilot looked for test users in home care.

Forum Virium Helsinki provided the project with expertise in testing health and wellbeing technologies in a real test environment to ensure the user-oriented development of the Senior Safety solution.

Benefits for Helsinki

The City of Helsinki Social Services and Health Care Division learned valuable lessons from the pilot about digital solutions that can help older people live independently in their own homes. The Senior Safety project also worked in close cooperation with other health and wellbeing projects of Forum Virium Helsinki and the City of Helsinki.

Photo: Maija Astikainen, City of Helsinki