Abstract

Systems for assisted living that support people in their own home are becoming ever more important internationally as social and economic demands change. In our system, we view everyday activity around the home as travel between landmarks, with objects deposited and collected in locations that only need to be localised in relation to those landmarks rather than in terms of a fixed frame of reference. The placement of such landmarks – implemented as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags – can be determined by the degree of resolution required, so that areas where there is more spatial complexity may have a higher density of tags than those areas that are less complex. In this paper we describe a prototype system built around RFID tags used as fixed landmarks and attached to moveable objects along with a portable interrogator, using commercially available hardware and software. Two methods were developed: history recall, using continuous object tracking and real-time object location sensing. Usability testing of the system is described and the results reported. Future development challenges, potential applications and critical technological development points are discussed.

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