🌟 Patent of the Week: Seeing through walls with WiFi to help the elderly
Making aging in place a much safer reality
🧐 What's the Big Idea?
Here’s a mind blowing statistic for you, every SECOND of every day, an older adult (65+) suffers a fall in the US. Don’t take my word for it, this is coming straight from the CDC. To make matters worse, 1 out of every 5 falls leads to a serious injury and over 3 million end in the ER, each year. Yes, this is a big problem and it’s only getting bigger as humanity ages, especially in the developed world. We’re at 36 million older adults (65+) in the US right now, and that number is projected to grow to over 77 million by 2034.
So what’s the big idea? Imagine you’ve fallen at home and got injured, and like many older adults, you don’t wear a fancy smartwatch that detects falls. You’re now stuck on the floor and need to wait until someone comes by to find you there and call 911. What if, instead, your wifi router had the smarts to detect that you fell and can automatically alert your loved ones and call you an ambulance? Enter WiDeo, a groundbreaking technology developed by researchers at Stanford University, transforming ordinary WiFi into an extraordinary guardian. WiDeo utilizes WiFi signals as a non-intrusive, invisible sensor to detect human motion, including falls, in real-time.
🔍 Why It Matters
Non-Invasive: No wearables or cameras. Just your regular WiFi router with WiDeo's smart capabilities.
Accurate and Reliable: Proven to track movements with a median error of less than 12cm, even through walls.
Emergency Response: Automatically alerts family members or emergency services when a fall is detected.
Peace of Mind: Ensures continuous monitoring, especially crucial for those living alone.
🚀 Stage of Development
WiDeo is currently in the prototype stage, successfully tested in controlled environments. The next step is developing a practical, real-time prototype for home use. Its potential applications extend beyond fall detection for the elderly, including security, navigation, and even gesture recognition.
🤝 Interested in Making a Difference?
If you're interested in contributing to the development and deployment of WiDeo, reach out to the innovators directly or get in touch with Stanford’s commercialization office.
📒 The Details
Research Publication: WO/2015/168700
Innovators: Kiran Joshi, Dinesh Bharadia, Sachin Katti, Manikanta Kotaru
Contact: Evan Elder, Senior Licensing Associate at Stanford
About the artist
Frank Kelly Freas, known for his work in MAD Magazine and his illustrations.