Project Overview

Smart homes of the future will be able to monitor the health and function of the residents. Since people spend about a third of the day in bed, that location would be an ideal location to provide passive monitoring. Our group has been working on techniques to extract mobility information (e.g. turning and exiting) and such health parameters as breathing and risk of pressure ulcer formation from pressure sensors placed under the mattress of a bed for over a decade. Currently there are a number of bed sensors on the market that can detect some vital signs, but there are none that can provide location-based information required for more complex analyses for mobility change and pressure ulcer risk. This project will strengthen the partnership between the AGE-WELL researchers and a Canadian company specializing in the production of a patented visco-elastic polymer gel. The researchers have been collaborating with Hexyoo Scientific Inc. to combine the sensing ability of a new infra-red technology and the comfort of the gel to create a new pressure sensing mat. This project focuses on formalizing the partnership to prepare for the production of the new bed mat for future smart homes.