Fall detection system using a combination of accelerometer, audio input and magnetometer

• US 9,648,478 B2
• Filed: 08/21/2014
• Issued: 05/09/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nortek Security & Control LLC (Melrose Industries Plc)
• Original Assignee: Nortek Security & Control LLC (Melrose Industries Plc)
• Inventors: Fish, Ram David Adva, Messenger, Henry, Baryudin, Leonid, Dardashti, Soroush Salehian, Goldshtein, Evgenia
• Primary Examiner(s): Raymond, Edward
• Application Number:
  US14/465,489
• Publication Number:
  US 20140365164A1
• Time in Patent Office: 992 Days
• Field of Search: 702141, 702150, 702155, 702182-185, 702188
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 1/07 Indicating devices, e.g. for remote indication indicating working conditions of vehicles G07C5/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72421 with automatic activation of emergency service functions, e.g. upon sensing an alarm
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/02 including a Bluetooth interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]

Abstract

A wearable device for detecting a user state is disclosed. The wearable device includes an accelerometer for measuring an acceleration of a user, a magnetometer for measuring a magnetic field associated with the user'"'"'s change of orientation, a microphone for receiving audio, a memory for storing the audio, and at least one processor communicatively connected to the accelerometer, the magnetometer, the microphone, and the memory. The processor is identified to declare a measured acceleration as a suspected user state, and to categorize the suspected user state based on the stored audio as one of an activity of daily life (ADL), a confirmed user state, or an inconclusive event.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

an accelerometer to measure an acceleration of a user;

a magnetometer to measure a magnetic field associated with the user and to calculate an orientation of the user based on a measured magnetic field;

a microphone to receive audio;

a memory to store the audio; and

a processing device communicatively connected to the accelerometer, the magnetometer, the microphone, and the memory, the processing device to;

identify an occurrence of a suspected fall event based on a measured acceleration provided by the accelerometer and a change of orientation of the user provided at least in part by the magnetometer; and

confirm the suspected fall event as a fall event based on the stored audio.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing device is further to:

transmit, to a cloud computing system, data comprising the stored audio and at least one of the measured acceleration or the change of orientation; and

receive, from the cloud computing system, a re-confirmation of the suspected fall event as the fall event based on the transmitted data.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a gyroscope communicatively connected to the processing device, wherein the processing device is to calculate the change of orientation of the user from the gyroscope, the magnetometer, and the accelerometer.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a speaker and a cellular transceiver each communicatively connected to the processing device, wherein the processing device is to utilize the speaker, the microphone, and the cellular transceiver to receive a further confirmation from a voice conversation with a call center or the user.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing device is further to extract at least one feature from the stored audio and at least one of the measured acceleration or the measured magnetic field.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the at least one feature is an inter-signal dynamic property.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the inter-signal dynamic property is based on relationships between audio energy and physical movement.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the inter-signal dynamic property is at least one of elapsed time between acceleration and audio peaks or elapsed time between acceleration and rotation rate peaks.

9. A method comprising:

measuring, by a processing device, an acceleration of a user;

measuring a magnetic field associated with the user;

calculating of an orientation of the user based on the measured magnetic field;

receiving and storing audio corresponding to the user;

identifying an occurrence of a suspected fall event based on the measured acceleration and a change of the orientation of the user; and

confirming the suspected fall event as a fall event based on the stored audio.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

transmitting, to a cloud computing system, data comprising the stored audio and a east one of the measured acceleration or the change of orientation; and

receiving, from the cloud computing system, a re-confirmation of the suspected fall event as the fall event based on the transmitted data.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein confirming the suspected fall event as the fall event based on the stored audio comprises an opt-out mechanism wherein specific sound patterns are used to assess the suspected fall event as an activity of daily life (ADL).

12. The method of claim 9, wherein confirming the suspected fall event as the fall event based on the stored audio comprises an opt-in mechanism wherein specific sound characteristics are detected and employed to confirm that a fall has occurred.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising calculating the change of orientation of the user from a gyroscope, the magnetometer, and the accelerometer.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising receiving a notification from a voice conversation with a call center or the user.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising extracting at least one feature from the stored audio and at least one of the measured acceleration or the calculated change of orientation.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein:

the at least one feature is an inter-signal dynamic property is based on relationships between audio energy and physical movement; and

the inter-signal dynamic property is at least one of elapsed time between acceleration and audio peaks or elapsed time between acceleration and rotation rate peaks.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions encoded thereon which, when executed by a processing device, cause the processing device to perform operations comprising:

measuring, by the processing device, an acceleration of a user;

measuring a magnetic field associated with the user;

calculating of an orientation of the user based on the measured magnetic field;

receiving and storing audio corresponding to the user;

identifying an occurrence of a suspected fall event based on he measured acceleration and a change of the orientation of the user; and

confirming the suspected fall event as a fall event based on the stored audio.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise:

transmitting, to a cloud computing system, data comprising the stored audio and at least one of the measured acceleration or the change of orientation; and

receiving, from the cloud computing system, a re-confirmation of the suspected fall event as the fall event based on the transmitted data.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise calculating the change of orientation of the user from a gyroscope, the magnetometer, and the accelerometer.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise extracting at least one feature from the stored audio and at least one of the measured acceleration and the calculated change of orientation, wherein the at least one feature is an inter-signal dynamic property is based on relationships between audio energy and physical movement.