Creating a IoT Night Watcher for Elderly
School of Engineering Published on 21 Dec 2018

Dr Poh Kok Kiong, Senior Lecturer from School of Engineering, recently developed a working prototype of a smart floormat. This floormat helps healthcare professionals or caregivers monitor elderly patients’ living patterns without being intrusive.

Christened as the IoT Night Watcher, the floormat make use of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies such as the advanced wireless technology, embedded system and cloud software technology.

The IoT Night Watcher logs the number of times the mat is stepped on and transmits the data to a cloud server. When strategically placed in various parts of the house, i.e. in front of the entrance to the bathroom or kitchen, the data captured can create an image of a user's movement patterns and habits. Also, the mat can also be programmed to send alerts when specific patterns of movement are detected or missed.

The data collected will be useful in diagnosing the user's condition. For example, a higher-than-usual frequency of toilet usage could indicate that the user might have a medical issue.

Meanwhile, local electronics firm Apps-Connect is keen to bring this to market and expect an early version to go out in 2019.