Tech-Integrated Facility at Kebun Baru to Monitor Elderly Living Alone in a Non-Invasive Manner

By
Zhi Hao
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It’s one thing to assist the vulnerable.

It’s quite another to do it without invading their privacy – which could be a source of embarrassment at times.

And yet, amazingly, it appears that the Integrated Dementia Assisted Living (Ideal) facility is set to circumvent the cons of routine assistance…

By implementing a system that prioritises assistance and keeps privacy intact at the same time. 

Tech-Integrated Facility at Kebun Baru to Monitor Elderly Living Alone in a Non-Invasive Manner

According to The Straits Times, the pilot integrated aged care facility, which is installed with non-invasive video-based technology, has opened its doors in Kebun Baru.

It commenced operations on Monday (1 March 2021) in a Housing Board unit, and will reportedly serve the elderly who live alone in the area.

According to the news report, the facility is equipped with two cameras and a sound sensor, as well as artificial intelligence (AI) and sound analytics software that can detect falls and distress.

Volunteer caregivers from Kebun Baru Community Club will be monitoring the video feed, though they are really only there for medical assistance. Should a fall or distress be detected, the system will send an alarm – thereby getting rid of any possible human error.

What About Privacy?

Lest you’re wondering, privacy appears to be a key prioritisation in this project.

According to Mr Benjamin Low, Milestone Systems’ vice-president of Asia-Pacific, the video-based system employs silhouettes instead of authentic portrayals, thus ensuring privacy and data protection amid monitoring.

“This allows the system to extract only metadata from video footage that is critical in identifying elderly persons in distress while censoring any non-essential physical and personal details,” he said.

To qualify for facilitative care, residents would have to fulfil a Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) form.

Kebun Baru MP Henry Kwek has since expressed his approval of the technology and has indicated his interest in seeing similar-esque methods being employed in the rest of Singapore.

“We have a group of very vulnerable seniors… We want to help them age successfully and independently,” he said on Tuesday (2 March 2021).

“We hope that this can be a pilot of how we take care of our seniors – not just in Kebun Baru but throughout Singapore.”

For the record, the pilot trial is conducted by video management software company Milestone Systems, AI company Senturian Solutions and the Alzheimer’s Disease Association.

Worrying Trend

According to the Centre for Ageing Research and Education, 83,000 elderly people will be dwelling alone come 2030.

With falls being a prevalent factor, having made up 40 per cent of injury-related deaths in Singapore last year, video-based technology will surely go a long way in making sure that the elderly will be well-protected at all times.

And their privacy would not even be invaded – a notion that could well pave the way for the next generation of surveillance cameras.

Feature Image: Dragon Images/ Shutterstock.com

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Zhi Hao
Email: [email protected]