BLE-based approach for detecting daily routine changes

Abstract

This work proposes a system to detect changes in daily routines in a controlled environment, such as a sensorized-home. Variations in routines can be indicative of physical or cognitive decline in elderly adults, which makes it very attractive to support independent living and healthy ageing. Our proposal is based on an indoor symbolic location system based on low-cost and easy-to-install Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) transmitter beacons, together with a mobile receiver. The user's symbolic location is estimated from the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) and K-Nearest Neighbour (KNN) model, which is merged with the acceleration provided by the receiving mobile device. The location is used to estimate the time spent in each monitored room, to infer a time-based routine. The symbolic localization has an accuracy higher than 96%. The subsequent daily monitoring allows for the detection of variations with respect to a defined routine that can serve as an alarm for the user, family members or caregivers.