US-12620296-B2 - Occupancy dependent fall detection

Abstract

One embodiment relates to computer implemented method comprising: controlling an active reflected wave detector to measure wave reflections from an environment to receive measured wave reflection data that is obtained by the active reflected wave detector; determining an occupancy level indicative of how many people are present in the environment; and controlling, in dependence on the occupancy level, a fall detector that is operable to detect whether a person in the environment has fallen based on the measured wave reflection data.

Inventors

• Ilan HEVDELI
• Jonathan Mark SCHNAPP

Assignees

• ESSENCE SMARTCARE LTD.

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20220615

Priority Date

20210616

Claims (18)

1. 1 . A computer implemented method comprising: controlling an active reflected wave detector to measure wave reflections from an environment to receive measured wave reflection data that is obtained by the active reflected wave detector; determining an occupancy level indicative of how many people are present in the environment; and controlling, in dependence on the occupancy level, a fall detector that is operable to detect whether a person in the environment has fallen based on the measured wave reflection data, wherein if the occupancy level indicates that only a single person is present in the environment, the method comprises controlling the fall detector to detect whether the single person has fallen based on the measured wave reflection data, wherein the controlling comprises, if the occupancy level indicates that multiple people are present in the environment, controlling the fall detector to any of: prevent commencement of a fall detection process performed by the fall detector; abort a fall detection process performed by the fall detector; or prevent the issuance of a fall detection alert in response to the fall detector detecting that a person in the environment has fallen.
2. 2 . The computer implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the first type of fall detection alert indicates that a single people is present in the environment, or provides no information on how many people are present in the environment.
3. 3 . The computer implemented method of claim 1 , wherein said determining the occupancy level is based on the measured wave reflection data.
4. 4 . The computer implemented method of claim 3 , wherein said determining the occupancy level is based on a spatial distribution of reflection points conveyed in the measured wave reflection data.
5. 5 . The computer implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising: receiving a first sensor signal from a first activity sensor configured to detect activity in a first region of the environment; receiving a second sensor signal from a second activity sensor configured to detect activity in a second region of the environment that does not overlap with the first region; and determining the occupancy level using both the first sensor signal and the second sensor signal.
6. 6 . The computer implemented method of claim 5 , wherein at least one of the first activity sensor and the second activity sensor is a motion detector.
7. 7 . The computer implemented method of claim 1 , wherein if the occupancy level indicates that multiple people are present in the environment, the method comprises controlling the active reflected wave detector to operate in an operating mode in which it does not measure wave reflections from the environment.
8. 8 . The computer implemented method of claim 1 , wherein said controlling the active reflected wave detector to measure wave reflections from the environment is performed in response to detecting motion in the environment based on receiving motion detection data from a motion detector.
9. 9 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a processor of a fall detection device, cause the processor to: control an active reflected wave detector to measure wave reflections from an environment to receive measured wave reflection data that is obtained by the active reflected wave detector; determine an occupancy level indicative of how many people are present in the environment; and control, in dependence on the occupancy level, a fall detector that is operable to detect whether a person in the environment has fallen based on the measured wave reflection data, wherein if the occupancy level indicates that only a single person is present in the environment, the method comprises controlling the fall detector to detect whether the single person has fallen based on the measured wave reflection data, wherein the control comprises, if the occupancy level indicates that multiple people are present in the environment, controlling the fall detector to any of: prevent commencement of a fall detection process performed by the fall detector; abort a fall detection process performed by the fall detector; or prevent the issuance of a fall detection alert in response to the fall detector detecting that a person in the environment has fallen.
10. 10 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein the control comprises, if the occupancy level indicates that multiple people are present in the environment, controlling the active reflected wave detector to operate in an operating mode in which it does not measure wave reflections from the environment.
11. 11 . A fall detection device comprising: a processor, wherein the processor is configured to: control an active reflected wave detector to measure wave reflections from an environment to receive measured wave reflection data that is obtained by the active reflected wave detector; determine an occupancy level indicative of how many people are present in the environment; and control, in dependence on the occupancy level, a fall detector that is operable to detect whether a person in the environment has fallen based on the measured wave reflection data, wherein if the occupancy level indicates that only a single person is present in the environment, the processor is configured to control the fall detector to detect whether the single person has fallen based on the measured wave reflection data, wherein the control comprises, if the occupancy level indicates that multiple people are present in the environment, controlling the fall detector to: prevent commencement of a fall detection process performed by the fall detector; abort a fall detection process performed by the fall detector; or prevent the issuance of a fall detection alert in response to the fall detector detecting that a person in the environment has fallen.
12. 12 . The fall detection device of claim 1 , wherein if the occupancy level indicates that multiple people are present in the environment, the processor is configured to control the active reflected wave detector to operate in an operating mode in which it does not measure wave reflections from the environment.
13. 13 . The fall detection device of claim 11 , wherein the occupancy level is determined based on the measured wave reflection data.
14. 14 . The fall detection device of claim 11 , wherein the processor is configured to: receive a first sensor signal from a first activity sensor configured to detect activity in a first region of the environment; receive a second sensor signal from a second activity sensor configured to detect activity in a second region of the environment that does not overlap with the first region; and determine the occupancy level using both the first sensor signal and the second sensor signal.
15. 15 . The fall detection device of claim 14 , wherein at least one of the first activity sensor and the second activity sensor is a motion detector.
16. 16 . A computer implemented method comprising: controlling an active reflected wave detector to measure wave reflections from an environment to receive measured wave reflection data that is obtained by the active reflected wave detector; determining an occupancy level indicative of how many people are present in the environment; and controlling, in dependence on the occupancy level, a fall detector that is operable to detect whether a person in the environment has fallen based on the measured wave reflection data, wherein if the occupancy level indicates that only a single person is present in the environment, the method comprises controlling the fall detector to detect whether the single person has fallen based on the measured wave reflection data, wherein the controlling comprises controlling the fall detector to: issue a first type of fall detection alert in response to the fall detector detecting that a person in the environment has fallen, and issue a second type of fall detection alert, different to the first type of fall detection alert, if the occupancy level indicates that multiple people are present in the environment and the fall detector detects that a person in the environment has fallen.
17. 17 . A fall detection device comprising: a processor, wherein the processor is configured to: control an active reflected wave detector to measure wave reflections from an environment to receive measured wave reflection data that is obtained by the active reflected wave detector; determine an occupancy level indicative of how many people are present in the environment; and control, in dependence on the occupancy level, a fall detector that is operable to detect whether a person in the environment has fallen based on the measured wave reflection data, wherein if the occupancy level indicates that only a single person is present in the environment, the processor is configured to control the fall detector to detect whether the single person has fallen based on the measured wave reflection data, wherein the control comprises controlling the fall detector to: issue a first type of fall detection alert in response to the fall detector detecting that a person in the environment has fallen, and issue a second type of fall detection alert, different to the first type of fall detection alert, if the occupancy level indicates that multiple people are present in the environment and the fall detector detects that a person in the environment has fallen.
18. 18 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a processor of a fall detection device, cause the processor to: control an active reflected wave detector to measure wave reflections from an environment to receive measured wave reflection data that is obtained by the active reflected wave detector; determine an occupancy level indicative of how many people are present in the environment; and control, in dependence on the occupancy level, a fall detector that is operable to detect whether a person in the environment has fallen based on the measured wave reflection data, wherein if the occupancy level indicates that only a single person is present in the environment, the method comprises controlling the fall detector to detect whether the single person has fallen based on the measured wave reflection data, wherein the control comprises controlling the fall detector to: issue a first type of fall detection alert in response to the fall detector detecting that a person in the environment has fallen, and issue a second type of fall detection alert, different to the first type of fall detection alert, if the occupancy level indicates that multiple people are present in the environment and the fall detector detects that a person in the environment has fallen.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION/S This application claims the benefit of priority of Great Britain Patent Application No. 2108554.3 filed on 16 Jun. 2021, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates generally to a device and method for controlling a fall detector. BACKGROUND There is a need to use a monitoring system to automatically detect when a person has fallen in a designated space, for example in an interior of a building. For example, an elderly person may end up in a hazardous situation when they have fallen and are unable to call for help, or unable to do so quickly. Some known systems have been developed in which the person wears a pendant which has an accelerometer in it to detect a fall based on kinematics. The pendant upon detecting a fall can transmit an alert signal. However the person may not want to wear, or may be in any case not wearing, the pendant. Other reflected-wave based systems such as radar (whether radio wave, microwave or millimeter wave), lidar or sonar, are known to monitor a person in a designated space. SUMMARY The inventors have identified that the known reflected-wave based systems consume significant power, which presents a challenge to its viability in applications in which low power consumption is a key requirement. The inventors have recognised that in situations where multiple people are present in an environment, power can be conserved by controlling the operation of a reflected-wave based fall detector. This is based on knowing that there are other people in the vicinity of the person who has fallen who can take action to help (e.g. make a telephone call or push a distress button if needed), and thus the device can save power by not performing a power intensive operation. According to one aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a computer implemented method comprising: controlling an active reflected wave detector to measure wave reflections from an environment to receive measured wave reflection data that is obtained by the active reflected wave detector; determining an occupancy level indicative of how many people are present in the environment; and controlling, in dependence on the occupancy level, a fall detector that is operable to detect whether a person in the environment has fallen based on the measured wave reflection data. If the occupancy level indicates that only a single person is present in the environment, the method may comprise controlling the fall detector to detect whether the single person has fallen based on the measured wave reflection data. The method may further comprise controlling the issuance of a fall detection alert in response to the fall detector detecting that the person has fallen. The method may comprise commencing a fall detection process if the occupancy level indicates that a single person is present in the environment, whereas if the occupancy level indicates that multiple people are present in the environment it may be that no fall detection process is commenced—in other words, a fall detection process is prevented from being commenced. The fall detection process commenced if the occupancy level indicates that a single person is present in the environment and the fall detection process that is not commenced if the occupancy level indicates that multiple people are present in the environment, may comprise operating the active reflected wave detector to collect wave reflection data, and determining from collected wave reflection data whether a fall has occurred. If the occupancy level indicates that multiple people are present in the environment, the method may comprise preventing commencement of a fall detection process performed by the fall detector. If the occupancy level indicates that multiple people are present in the environment, the method may comprise aborting a fall detection process performed by the fall detector. For example, in a fall detection process that comprises operating the active reflected wave detector to collect wave reflection data and determining from collected wave reflection data whether a fall has occurred, aborting the fall detection process may comprise any one or more of: aborting operating the active reflected wave detector to thereby stop collecting wave reflection data sufficient for determining whether a fall has occurred;operating the active reflected wave detector to collect wave reflection data sufficient for determining whether a fall has occurred but not determining from the collected wave reflection data whether a fall has occurred; oroperating the active reflected wave detector to collect wave reflection data sufficient for determining whether a fall has occurred and aborting a process of determining from collected wave reflection data whether a fall has occurred. Optionally a duration of operating the active reflected wave detector to collect wave reflection data sufficient for determining whether a fall has o