LiDAR sensors not only improve road safety for self-driving cars, they can also help in monitoring and care of elderly. IBM began a trial home care service adopting LiDAR sensors with a UK startup company Cera Care. The pilot project will combine IBM’s machine learning software with LiDAR sensors, reported Reuters.

IBM Research UK teamed up with Cera Care to develop an elderly home care system to monitor clients’ activity. They will install LiDAR sensors in the houses of 10 to 15 volunteers in the UK since June to track activities of the client. The six month pilot project will help to provide clear ideas about environment and daily routine of the clients and offer a detailed picture of how to offer suitable care serves for different individuals.
According to Reuter’s report, the system enables care service to become more customized for meeting different demands in efficient ways for the growing elderly population requesting the services. CEO of Cera Care, Ben Maruthappu, noted, “Technology like this can help us solve that gap between demand and supply because it means we can pinpoint when a careworker needs to be in a person’s home.”
As LiDAR sensors detect object without recognizing personal information like ages, genders, privacy of users is more secured, indicated IBM’s research scientist. However, currently the cost of a LiDAR sensor is relatively high, widespread application of LiDAR in house care will need to wait until the costs fall.