5.2.1 How the System Works
The system uses a hybrid of the two systems that were explained above??”interrogators are
placed around the house to create an information grid; the user (elder) wears a passive
RFID tag. Interrogators can be designed with the house, added at a later stage, or built into
carpets or wall paneling systems. The RFID tags can be implanted or worn by the user and
may be in the form of non computational products like a ring or embedded into shoes. The
RFID tag when attached to the person is read by speci?¬?c interrogators in the spatial
framework which then parses the location information to a central computer. For example
when the person enters the kitchen, the speci?¬?c interrogator in that area reads the presence
of the RFID tag and informs the central computer of this status. The central computer then
tracks the location of the user as s=he moves around the house based on this simple binary
information (present=not present) (see Figure 19.3). The computer compares the information
it gathers to historical data to analyze for contextual clues and=or anomalies in activity
patterns. Unique identi?¬?cation tags in conjunction with other sensing technologies (pressure
sensitive ?¬‚ooring) can also be used to detect the presence of unwelcome guests in the
home. Such information can then trigger action??”informing a trusted second person
(son=daughter or neighbor) in case of pattern anomalies or automatically calling for help
(911 or ambulance services) and so on.
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