Sense AI: home monitoring for elderly care

The early Home designs left caregivers to piece together separate readings. Adding an overall summary was meant to give them an answer at a glance.

I tested two prototype versions with 16 caregivers from 10 homes, using a different group of 8 in each round. They used the prototype on their phones to check on the person, respond to a fall and see whether another family member was responding. In the first round, several caregivers read the individual readings before noticing the summary.

The revised Home put one overall status first and moved the readings into a pull-up sheet. This gave caregivers a clearer starting point, at the cost of an extra swipe to inspect the detail.

In the second round, the 8 new caregivers began with the overall status and found the actions without prompting.

A detected fall or a press of the device’s help button needs a different response from a quiet period at home. Giving every unusual reading the same emphasis would make these events harder to distinguish. The app gives falls and help requests priority, while less certain observations prompt a check-in.

In the first prototype round, some caregivers were unsure what to do in a fall scenario. The revised flow explains the event, offers a way to call the parent and lets the family see who is responding. Acknowledging the alert means someone is checking; confirming the person is safe is a separate step. The app does not contact emergency services.

Caregivers needed to understand the detail behind the overall status, including when movement happened and how sleep or room conditions had changed. I used a consistent information order and clearer explanations across the six readings, while choosing charts suited to each type of information.

To check interpretation, I asked the 8 caregivers in round two to explain the day’s movement from Activity. They averaged about 28 seconds on first use and 16 seconds with fresh data later in the same session. All 8 were correct on both attempts.

Home gives caregivers a view of the person’s current situation, including when they have settled for the night. The weekly review brings changes across several days together, so caregivers can look beyond a single reading.

A caregiver asked to record things that might explain unusual sleep or activity, such as a new medication or a bad night. Care notes keep that context alongside the day’s readings and make it available to family members sharing care.