There are more than 35 million Americans over the age of 65. Many of them are
facing, or will face, the problem of continuing to live independently in
their own homes as their physical abilities and memories decline. Researchers
at the Georgia Institute of Technology are conducting a project that uses
computer-based technologies to help senior citizens live on their own. 

The Aware Home Research Initiative focuses on how to design a home to allow
older adults to be independent longer. How does the adult child of an older
person make sure his or her parent is taking medication at the proper
intervals? How can a house tell you where you've left something, or whether
you've left a pot cooking on the stove? 

Some of these problems are answered by the Digital Family Portrait, which
gives adult children a virtual report on the activity level and condition of
their parent. The portrait is a computer screen that senses data from the
parent's home, including room-to-room activity, which essentially lets the
children keep and "eye" on their parents' movements. 

The "What Was I Cooking?" interface incorporates cameras under kitchen
cabinets that record what ingredients a person has put into a bowl. The
prototype also outfits containers with sensors. The information is used to
create a cartoon-strip-format display of the person's recent actions on a
computer screen embedded in a cabinet door. When a person's activity is
interrupted and they forget what ingredients were already added, they can
display a reminder. 

The next step in the research is to have the system recognize a person's
location when they speak. If someone speaks in the dark, cameras will be able
to move where the person is located. The researchers want the systems to be
invisible, and for the users to be comfortable about what others are able to
see as they go about their daily lives. 

For more information on Aware Home, visit:
http://www.awarehome.gatech.edu/