Case Study of Visual Imaging Sensors in Smart Home

Health monitoring through thermal imaging can also be extended to the elderly. This is critical given two important global trends: longer life expectancy and aging populations, and the increasing number of elderly people living alone. Thermal imaging can help in many ways, from simple temperature and motion vital sign monitoring to complex behavioral analysis. A common and important topic in elderly care is detecting and even preventing falls. While this can be achieved by installing a visual camera in the living room, it would not be possible to place a camera in the bathroom – where the risk is highest.

With this in mind, a team at LSCM Hong Kong has pioneered a thermal camera solution built on a relatively low-resolution LWIR sensor with less than 5,000 pixels. The resolution is high enough to allow for pose estimation, but small enough to allow for continuous, real-time thermal image processing with modest computing power - and most importantly, to preserve privacy. The unit runs a sophisticated algorithm locally that is able to detect the occurrence of an accident or fall and alert the responsible nurse or family member. The product won a gold medal at the 47th International Exhibition of Inventions in Geneva in 2019.

Other companies are developing camera solutions to help nursing facilities prevent common accidents. When a resident gets out of bed, these units can detect that the person is awake and immediately alert a caregiver to attend.

When thermal imaging meets AI chipset

To bring the integrated reference design to OEMs and ODMs, Meridian Innovation partnered with Generalplus Technology, a Taiwan-based global IC supplier known for its consumer products and home appliance solutions used in millions of industry name-brand products. “We are very happy to work with Meridian Innovation. Their thermal imaging module and Generalplus’ AI chip are the perfect solution for smart homes.”

When Meridian engineers installed their thermal imaging module on our AI SoC platform [Figure 6], it was a masterpiece in the making. A cost-effective, standalone solution was created that integrates temperature into audio, video, and graphics through convolutional neural network (CNN) capabilities for smart and AI applications. When demonstrating solutions like this, we see great interest from customers in this cutting-edge technology to create an innovative product for a better tomorrow,” said Jacky Chen, sales manager at Generalplus.

SmartForm Kit (Source: Generalplus)

in conclusion

Thermal imaging sensors are poised to enhance the functionality and value of many products in our homes, allowing us to address long-standing challenges such as health monitoring, falls, and fire prevention, while improving the energy efficiency and comfort of living spaces, and even helping us cook better meals. These advances are aided by the volume availability of a new generation of cost-effective thermal imaging cameras with resolutions of thousands or even tens of megapixels.

At the same time, we’re seeing a plethora of accessible reference hardware designs and software solutions that greatly facilitate adoption of the technology and accelerate the development cycle of innovative products that incorporate thermal cameras. Indeed, this is critical. The co-founder of Meridian Innovation, a company that has been at the forefront of this revolution, expressed it this way: “Thermal imaging sensors are like human eyes; they need sophisticated intelligence behind [them] in order to make sense of all the thermal data that passes through.”