Simpalarm has now invented a device which has the ability to monitor people who live at home independently. The Simpalarm will alert relatives or carers, if there are any anomalies detected prying around the premises. The device was originally designed as a burglar alarm by James Savage, director of Simpalarm due to the high amount of burglaries on the street in which he lived. It has now evolved into a device with a PIR sensor to sense movement that simply plugs in to a household mains socket.

It gathers information and reports it to a web-based server, the information is analysed and disseminated using special software. Savage tells us that the device uses its GPRS modem to securely send pockets of information wirelessly to a server reporting on the detected activity. If placed in a room of regular use, over a period of time, such as 3 or 4 weeks, then patterns of activity in the person’s daily routine start to emerge.

“We develop these daily patterns of routine subconsciously with the likeliness that we get up between certain times, go to sleep between a certain time, move around the house a set number of times, perhaps getting up in the middle of the night once or twice to go to the bathroom,” said Savage, “however, variations in the patterns would then make rise to concern and a nominated family member or carer would then in result be notified via an e-mail or SMS.”

There is a panic button feature supplied with the system, however it requires customers to set up an account with the device via Simpalarm’s web portal which then prompts the user to enter in the details of the ‘trusted key holders’. In the case of an emergency when the button is pressed the key holders will be notified. They then simply press buttons on their own phone as to whether or not they have the availability of attending the elderly person’s house.

Savage’s Simpalarm was named at this year’s Discovering Wireless Start-Ups along with 5 other winners.