Smart fall prevention lamp set to monitor breathing and coughing 24/7 this year

European technology firm Nobi has revealed numerous new features to its fall-preventing smart lamp at CES 2023, as the assistive technology is now able to monitor vital signs.

Nobi’s smart lamp uses AI to detect, prevent, and predict falls in older people. Its latest generation will be able to monitor breathing and coughing 24/7 to further enhance the health, independence, and wellbeing of elderly individuals.

The original Nobi smart lamp detects falls and provides immediate help. When a fall occurs, Nobi asks elderly residents if they have fallen. Without a clear “no”, the lamp automatically alerts care staff or family members.

Elderly users are in charge of their privacy; they decide in advance whether their family or caregiver will only receive a notification, or also be forwarded images (abstract or otherwise). In a home environment, thanks to its connection to a smart doorbell, Nobi can also open the front door for emergency services or neighbours who come to check up.

The smart lamp not only detects falls, but it also helps prevent them. It automatically provides a soft light when people sit up in bed. When they stand up, the entire room lights up so they can get their bearings.

By monitoring sleep patterns and detecting changes early, the lamp can predict an increased risk of falls and reveal other health problems as well.

As Nobi also detects so-called “slow falls,” caregivers can avoid elderly individuals ending up on the floor by reacting quickly.

Now, the new version of the lamp, which was announced at CES 2023, will incorporate radar technology. Combined with cameras and sensors, this will make the lamp more versatile, Nobi says.

Nobi Co-Founder and CTO Stijn Verrept said: “In the near future, it will become possible to also monitor crucial body parameters such as coughing and breathing. From a distance, without physical touch.

“For example, when someone starts breathing laboriously at night, the lamp will notice this and sound the alarm. In this way, Nobi will help prevent even more deaths, including during sleep.”

Audio quality has also been significantly enhanced with the new lamp. Fast, clear communication between the resident and the caregiver is crucial after a fall. Noise cancellation filters out background noise with the new lamp, such as sound from a loud television.

Beamforming software processing allows focused listening at one particular location in a room. The lamp then focuses specifically on the corner where the resident fell, for example.

Nobi Co-Founder and CEO Roeland Pelgrims added: “Simplicity and design are key to the large-scale breakthrough of age tech. Most technology solutions for seniors today are first and foremost functional, and unfortunately it shows. They are boring, grey and needlessly complex.

“The Nobi lamp is the smartest lamp in the world; its powerful Nvidia processor can perform more than 1 trillion calculations per second. But the user doesn’t notice any of this innovative high-tech. They simply see a beautiful, stylish, user-friendly lamp.”

Nobi analyses the images locally and immediately overwrites them when no fall has occurred, so no images are saved or sent to the cloud except after a fall incident. Users choose in advance what information they want to share with their caregivers.

They can choose not to share any images (they will then only receive a phone call, a text message, or a message in the app after a fall), to share only abstract images (contacts see stick figures), or to share the full images from their room.