This is a very popular question. There are already two smartapps supplied with SmartThings to do some of this:
And just in case those don’t meet your specific needs, multiple people Have created variations of this idea. Whether it would be reliable is a different question.
See the following topics:
Hi everyone,
I’ve recently been using Smartthings to help keep an eye on my elderly parents. My mother’s doing mostly ok, but my father has moderate dementia.
I’ve been using a presence sensor combined with door sensors to make sure that if he tries to leave the house in the middle of the night, it’ll turn on a few lights and alert my mother (and myself remotely through my phone). So far, that works great! (and so far, he hasn’t left - just opens and closes the door at night - phew!).
But what I’d REALLY love, is a SmartApp that would let me set an alert if my father leaves the house WITHOUT my mother. Obviously it’s fine if they go out together, but I’m worried about my dad leaving on his own - either in the middle of the night again, or during the day when my Mom’s left him alone to r…
And another for a very similar use case:
I’m trying to set up a helpful monitoring system for an elderly woman who lives alone. I have SmartThings in my home for monitoring the garage door, the front door and turning on outside and inside lights on a schedule. So I have some experience.
1)I have a smart things presence sensor which she will carry on keys or in her bag. That will let me know if she is “home” within what range (500-1000 feet is what my smartphone registers)?
But knowing that things are OK at home is more important. She has regular tasks/activities that should occur at or by certain times.
2)So open/close sensors on the fridge , medicine cabinet and front door seem appropriate. I know I can monitor her activity with push messages to the mobile app on my phone, but would like some way to be alerted to inactiv…
And another:
As a true Smart Things rookie, I bought the Smart things to monitor my elderly parent. I am looking to to set up a situation where if there is no movement, on a motion sensor, between 6am and noon that it notifies me,I just want to know she is up and getting around, and not in a medical emergency in the house. This would be when a presence sensor is in the home. There is one that is close in ELDERLY CARE in Smart Apps, but it is about be between the bathroom and the bedroom. I want it for one motion sensor, I could not get the one in the smart apps to do what I wanted reliability. Seems like a simple app, just have not been able to find it. Other than that, lovin the concept, I was testing it for this application, but might have to buy a second one for my own home use.
One where people shared several ideas:
Some have suggested using SmartThings a a simple way to monitor (in a caring way) the daily routines of aging parents, etc s that they can have greater peace of mind about their welfare. Are there any specific cases people care to share?
And the medical Smarthome topic:
Continuing the discussion from Devices we don’t have :
I am developing a medical SmartHome and there are several devices that we could use. Probably the most significant would be a medication box or dispenser. Right now we have a portable electronic med tray that we can detect tilt. Would be nice to have Zigbee med tray that can detect tilt and control when meds are available.
Also we are using the moisture sensor to detect when a patient is taking a shower, but I am not sure that is the best device. Perhaps a more water proof version and / or a flowmeter (that can also go into a sink etc)
Door openers for wheelchair persons
A sensor that can confirm that a door is locked without having to buy a smart lock.
Sliding glass door and front door.
Sensor to detect a hot stove. We plan to lo…
Those should give you some ideas to get started. not being opened, rather than motion in a room.
Some people simply monitor whether the person is home but the refrigerator has not been opened for 6 hours between 6 am and midnight, for example. Lots of variations.)
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. There are obviously many different ways to approach this, depending on the exact details of each use case. (The presence of a dog or cat in the home, for example, greatly complicates the setup. Then you might want to trigger off a drawer where daily medication is kept not being opened, rather than motion in a room.