Technology Description

Safe@Night is a system designed to monitor children or adults with developmental disabilities (or adults with age-related decline) during the night to reduce the incidence of wandering. Through a standalone system using sensors, wireless communication protocols, and microcontrollers to monitor activity in the room, we can provide assistance to the user via auditory feedback instructing them to return to bed. Because the system tracks how long the user has been out of bed, we are able to notify the user’s caregiver/parent when they have been out of bed past a user defined amount of time. This system can also provide immediate caregiver notification if the user enters a dangerous portion of the house (i.e. kitchen or front door) through a similar process. Web data logging via the microcontroller will enable long-term user tracking as well as aid clinicians with potential interventions.

Development Team:

Raiyan Sobhan (Duke University)
Leighanne Davis (Duke University)
Kevin Caves (Duke University)

The Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Information and Communications Technology Access (LiveWell RERC) is funded by a 5-year grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (grant number 90RE5028). The opinions contained in this website are those of the LiveWell RERC and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or NIDILRR.