CSIRO publishes new report

(Eduardo Barrios/Unsplash)

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australia’s national science agency have published the findings of a new sensor-based platform trial, with the potential to better support older Australians to live in their own home longer.

The report, titled DACS: Smarter Safer Homes to Support Older People Living in Their Own Homes Through Enhanced Care Models, is based on findings of research to trial the Smarter Safer Homes (SSH) sensor-based platform.

Developed by CSIRO, SSH was the first consumer driven smart home technology in the world to help people live independently in their homes.

The platform comprises ambient sensors that collect data from the physical environment within the home and use artificial intelligence to turn that data into relevant information.

The platform includes a sensor-based in-home monitoring system (data collection), a cloud computing server (data analyses), and a client module (data presentation) with a tablet app, a family portal, and a service provider portal.

The SSH platform was an output of consultations with aged care service providers who contributed to its initial design.

The Dementia and Aged Care Services (DACS) trial of the SSH platform commenced in 2019 and involved 195 participants who tested the sensors in their homes.

The SSH algorithm has been licensed and commercialised by HSC Technology Group and deployed with numerous aged care providers in acute and post-acute care facilities.