Smart Houses Close to Reality with New Wireless Sensors
From: Nikkei Weekly - 11/07/2005 - Vol. 43, No. 2208, P. 16
By: Takehisa Takatsuki

Researchers in Japan are starting to focus more on sophisticated applications
for sensing technology that could finally lead to the emergence of the smart
house. The use of sensors to open doors as people approach them or turn on
lights when someone enters a room is already a reality, but new wireless
technology and software has researchers looking to take sensor technology to
the next level. The Aizenen care facility in Tokyo is already taking
advantage of ultrasonic tags fixed to wheelchairs to monitor and analyze
behavior patterns of residents, such as the time and frequency of use of the
bathroom, to aid its caregivers. The 24-hour monitoring systems is based on
the research of Yoshifumi Nishida from the Digital Human Research Center of
the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, who is
currently involved in developing software that uses ultrasonic tags to
prevent indoor accidents involving infants. "The program can be used to help
design safer buildings for kids," says Nishida. Meanwhile, the construction
firm Ando has thrown its support behind a research effort to develop a system
that would rely on sensors to warn condo owners when they have created enough
noise to disturb people living beneath them. The cost of installing a large
number of sensors in a room is still an issue, but Waseda University's
Hitoshi Watanabe sees the use of affordable radio-frequency identity tags as
a potential solution.