A smart lamp from tech scale-up Nobi will soon be capable of monitoring vital signs, thanks to radar technology.
The lamp was unveiled at CES in Las Vegas, and has been upgraded with a number of technological innovations to help monitor people in their own homes further. The Nobi lamp is already equipped with artificial intelligence for fall detection.
Radar technology has been deployed, which when combined with cameras and sensors is capable of tracking vital signs like coughing and abnormal breathing patterns.
In addition, audio quality has been improved. Beamforming software is used to enable focused listening targeted to one particular area of a room, while noise cancellation filters out background noise.
Stijn Verrept, Nobi co-founder and CTO, 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.”
These new upgrades to the lamp complement the AI-powered fall detection, which is helping to keep elderly residents safe both in their own homes and in residential units.
Should the lamp detect a fall, it will ask the elderly user if they have fallen. If it cannot detect a clear ‘no’ it will automatically alert care staff or family members, either by notification or with an image.
In a home setting it can also connect to a smart doorbell, allowing the technology to unlock a front door for emergency services or neighbours checking on the resident.
The light’s automatic settings help to prevent falls too. Should a user sit up in bed it will generate a soft light. When they stand, the entire room will be lit to help them get their bearings.
With the added radar technology to monitor more signs of health, it can be used to help predict an increased risk of falls. By monitoring sleep patterns and detecting changes early it can reveal potential health problems.
Roeland Pelgrims, co-founder and CEO of Nobi, said: “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.”
Back in 2021 Apple added additional health features with the launch of iOS 15. This supported elderly users to share data with family which could highlight their risk of falling.