Monitoring and Support for Elderly People Using LoRa Communication Technologies: IoT Concepts and Applications

José Paulo Lousado and Sandra Antunes
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José Paulo Lousado: Research Centre in Digital Services (CISeD), Polytechnic Institute of Viseu, 3504-510 Viseu, Portugal
Sandra Antunes: Center for Studies in Education and Innovation (CI & DEI), Polytechnic Institute of Viseu, 3504-510 Viseu, Portugal

Future Internet, 2020, vol. 12, issue 11, 1-30

Abstract: The pandemic declared by the World Health Organization due to the SARS-CoV-2 virus (COVID-19) awakened us to a reality that most of us were previously unaware of—isolation, confinement and the massive use of information and communication technologies, as well as increased knowledge of the difficulties and limitations of their use. This article focuses on the rapid implementation of low-cost technologies, which allow us to answer a fundamental question: how can near real-time monitoring and follow-up of the elderly and their health conditions, as well as their homes, especially for those living in isolated and remote areas, be provided within their care and protect them from risky events? The system proposed here as a proof of concept uses low-cost devices for communication and data processing, supported by Long-Range (LoRa) technology and connection to The Things Network, incorporating various sensors, both personal and in the residence, allowing family members, neighbors and authorized entities, including security forces, to have access to the health condition of system users and the habitability of their homes, as well as their urgent needs, thus evidencing that it is possible, using low-cost systems, to implement sensor networks for monitoring the elderly using the LoRa gateway and other support infrastructures.

Keywords: internet of things; LoRaWAN; COVID-19; ICT; The Things Network; ESP32 microcontroller (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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