Zero UI · Passive · Dignified Sensing
Six invisible sensing technologies woven into the fabric of the home. No cameras. No wearables. Nothing to remember or charge. Each one detects a single meaningful signal — and only that signal — to help an older person stay safe, independent and connected on their own terms.
Filter by what matters most — to you, or someone you care for.
"Knows you fell before you can call for help — without ever seeing you."
A small disc fitted to the ceiling. It emits an invisible radio wave — the same technology used in automotive safety systems — and detects movement, breathing and posture from the way that wave bounces back. There is no camera, no microphone, no image of any kind. It recognises patterns: a normal walk to the bathroom at night, a fall, a person lying still who shouldn't be.
"Hears that the kitchen is busy — never what is being said."
This sensor listens to the acoustic texture of a home — cooking activity, conversation, the television, silence — and classifies patterns without ever recording speech. All audio is processed on the device and immediately discarded. What Assistiv receives is a score: "conversational activity was low this week." Words are never heard, stored or transmitted.
"Knows the kettle was boiled at 7am — the simplest sign that the morning is going well."
A clip-on sensor attached to the home's electricity supply reads the unique energy signature of every appliance — kettle, microwave, oven, television — and learns to distinguish them without entering any room. This is the least intrusive sensor in the stack: nothing in the living space, no camera, no microphone. It reads electricity, not behaviour directly.
"Knows the front door opened at 10am — the walk to the corner shop happened."
Small magnetic sensors fitted to doors, the medicine cabinet or the fridge. Each records a simple event: opened or closed, and when. A medication cabinet opened at the right time each day means tablets are being taken. A front door not opened for several days may indicate isolation or illness. No technology enters any room, no camera, no microphone.
"Understands rest the way a sleep clinic would — from beneath the mattress, invisibly."
A thin flat sensor that slides under the mattress and disappears. It detects movement, heart rate variability and breathing rhythm through the mattress itself, identifying sleep stages without any wearable device — no watch, no band, nothing to put on or remember. Poor sleep is both an early warning sign and an accelerant of frailty. This closes a gap for bedrooms where a ceiling device would feel unwelcome.
"The room that gets too cold in January — quietly raising the risk of a fall."
A small sensor, about the size of a smoke alarm, monitoring air quality, temperature and humidity. Cold rooms increase fall risk and cardiovascular strain; poor air quality adds cognitive load; damp accelerates respiratory disease. This sensor asks nothing of the person and requires no interaction. It simply notes whether the environment someone is living in is safe.
"The single most clinically valuable sensor in the home — and the least discussed."
A small contact fitted to the toilet cistern records each flush — nothing more. From that simple signal, the pattern of use across the day and night becomes a remarkably precise clinical proxy. UTI is the leading cause of acute hospital admission in older women, and the warning signs are written in bathroom frequency long before symptoms become severe enough to call for help.
"Knows whether the tap ran this morning — a quiet proxy for drinking, washing and self-care."
A non-invasive clamp on the cold water pipe under the kitchen sink detects flow without any plumbing changes. When the tap ran, for how long, and at what times of day becomes a composite signal for hydration, washing up and morning self-care routine. Combined with the kettle signal from energy disaggregation, it builds a complete picture of fluid intake — a direct driver of UTI risk, cognitive function and frailty progression.
"When someone stops using the stairs, it's rarely a decision — it's a signal."
A thin pressure mat embedded under the carpet on the bottom stair tread. Invisible once fitted, it counts stair ascents and descents across the day. Stair use is a validated proxy for physical capability, confidence and lower-limb strength — all primary frailty markers. The point at which someone begins avoiding the upstairs is a meaningful clinical threshold, reached gradually and silently, often weeks before it becomes visible to family or clinician.
"A standard CO alarm sounds at danger. This sensor acts weeks before danger arrives."
Standard carbon monoxide alarms prevent acute poisoning — they trigger at already-dangerous levels. A continuous low-level CO monitor operates at an entirely different threshold, detecting chronic sub-acute exposure from a poorly ventilating boiler or gas ring left on low. At 5–15ppm — well below alarm thresholds — CO causes cognitive symptoms frequently misread as dementia, depression or simple confusion. Catching and resolving the source can reverse apparent cognitive decline.
"Detects what a home visit would notice — before the home visit happens."
A discreet sensor measuring ammonia (NH₃) and hydrogen sulphide (H₂S) continuously. Ammonia spikes are a sensitive proxy for incontinence and personal hygiene neglect — early markers of self-neglect in the Missing Middle. H₂S elevation indicates organic decay: food left out, bins not emptied — mapping directly to the ASCOT domain of Food and Drink and reflecting declining executive function. Neither signal is intrusive. Both can trigger an amber alert to the care wallet long before a crisis visit reveals the same picture. Reference device: Milesight GS301 LoRaWAN Bathroom Odour Detector.
Every sensor processes data locally — on a small hub inside the home — before anything is transmitted. What leaves is not data. It is insight: a score, a trend, a flag. The original signal is discarded at the edge.
No one is handed a box of sensors. Assistiv begins with a conversation. Technology enters the home only in response to something the person says matters to them.
Assistiv begins by asking what matters most to you about staying at home. No clinical language. No forms. The priorities you name shape everything that follows.
If a sensor would help with something you named — night-time safety, peace of mind for the family, remembering medication — it is offered as a response to your words, not a product recommendation.
🌱 Starts with oneEach sensor is introduced only when you are ready. Any device can be removed. Assistiv does not need all six to be useful — even one sensor, chosen for the right reason, makes a meaningful difference.
↩ Always reversible