System and method for non intrusive monitoring of “at risk” individuals

• US 7,095,328 B1
• Filed: 03/16/2001
• Issued: 08/22/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/16/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Uniloc 2017 LLC (FIG LLC (d/b/a Fortress Investment Group LLC))
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Willner, Barry E., Stern, Edith
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Tai T.
• Application Number:
  US09/810,015
• Time in Patent Office: 1,985 Days
• Field of Search: 340/573.1, 340/531, 340/522, 340/540, 340/541, 600/300, 600/301
• US Class Current: 340/573.1
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0415 detecting absence of activity per se
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0476 Cameras to detect unsafe condition, e.g. video cameras

Abstract

Disclosed is a system and method for monitoring one or more humans while maintaining the privacy of those individuals. The system includes one or more activity pickups that create one or more respective information outputs. A computer system monitors one or more of the information outputs and processes the information outputs to determine when one or more types of inactivity of the human in an area exceeds one or more thresholds of inactivity. Alarms and/or indications activate when one or more of the thresholds of inactivity is exceeded. Various types of thresholds of inactivity are disclosed.

Claims

1. A system for monitoring one or more humans comprising:

one or more activity pickups that create one or more respective information outputs;

a computer system that monitors one or more of the information outputs and processes the information outputs to be indicative of activity, without providing information which violates privacy of the one or more humans; and

a process, executing on the computer system, that determines when one or more types of inactivity of the human in an area exceeds one or more thresholds of inactivity and causes one or more alerts when one or more of the thresholds of inactivity is exceeded.

2. A system, as in claim 1, where the alert is caused when one or more of the thresholds of inactivity is exceeded for a time period.

3. A system, as in claim 1, where the threshold of inactivity is determined by any of the following:

a logical combination of two or more thresholds of inactivity, a variable determined by a formula containing more than one of the outputs, a logical combination of more than one levels of activity, and a level of more than one of the outputs.

4. A system, as in claim 3, where the activity includes one or more of:

an audible activity and a motion activity.

5. A system, as in claim 4, where the audible activity is indicative of distress.

6. A system, as in claim 5, where the motion activity is indicative of stress.

7. A system, as claimed in claim 1, where one or more of the thresholds is modified by a modifier.

8. A system, as in claim 7, where the modifier includes any one more of the following:

a time, a date, a period of time, a recognition that a human face is present, a facial recognition, a speaker identification, and a voice recognition.

9. A system, as in claim 1, where the activity pickups include any one of more of the following:

a sound pickup, a video pick up, and a motion detection pickup.

10. A system, as in claim 1, where the threshold includes any one more of the following:

a number of movement changes, no movement change, no movement change in a time period, a change in facial expression, an elevated audio signal, and a lowered audio signal.

11. A system, as in claim 1, where the information outputs includes any one or more of the following:

a video stream, an audio stream, and an olfactory stream.

12. A system, as in claim 1, where the alarm includes any one or more of the following:

a notification to an attendant, an initiation of a display of the video stream, an audible alarm, a visual alarm, a notification to a medical professional, a digital network transmission, and a phone network transmission.

13. A system, as in claim 1, where the alarm is caused by a logical combination of two or more of the thresholds.

14. A system, as in claim 1, where one more of the activity pickups are connected to the computer system through one or more networks.

15. A system, as in claim 14, where a network connection to the network is one more of the following:

a data connection, an optical connection, a wireless connection, and an infrared connection.

16. The system of claim 1 wherein the system executing the process is connected by a network to the system monitoring the information outputs.

17. A system, as in claim 1, where one or more of the activity pickups are in different locations.

18. A system, as in claim 17, where the locations are one or more of the following:

a hospital room, an apartment, and an assisted living location.

19. A system, as in claim 1, where one or more activity pickups are not attached to any of the humans.

20. A system, as in claim 1, where one or more of the activity pickups are attached to one or more of the humans.

21. A system for monitoring one or more humans comprising:

one or more activity pickups that create one or more respective information outputs;

a computer system that monitors one or more of the information outputs; and

a process, executing on the computer system, that determines when one or more types of inactivity of the human in an area exceeds one or more thresholds of inactivity and causes one or more alerts when one or more of the thresholds of inactivity is exceeded;

where the alert is caused when one or more of the thresholds of inactivity is exceeded for a time period; and

where the threshold of inactivity is determined by any of the following;

a logical combination of two or more thresholds of inactivity, a variable determined by a formula containing more than one of the outputs, a logical combination of more than one levels of activity, and a level of more than one of the outputs.

22. A system, as in claim 21, wherein the computer system processes the information outputs to be indicative of activity, without providing information which violates privacy of the one or more humans.