Artificial intelligence linked to household devices such as kettles and electric showers is being used to alert family or neighbours if an elderly or vulnerable person does not follow their normal routine.
If the person usually boils the kettle to make tea by 8am for example, the monitoring device will identify this as normal behaviour, however if it has not been turned on by 9am, the householder will receive an automated text message. Stephen Milne, director of strategic projects at Censis, one of the partners, said: “This project is all about repurposing energy data to help inform social care and supporting healthy ageing.
“While there are other technologies related to monitoring activity, this is the first full service deployment that has been implemented through passively monitoring a property’s smart meter system. The device can also pick out each item being monitored, making it much more likely to spot any anomalies, and is barely noticeable for the householder.
Service user Evie was helped by the device after she fell unconscious at her home in Buckie in November last year.