A low-power, distributed, pervasive healthcare system for supporting memory

With age, injury, or disease, human memory can be significantly impaired. Current coping strategies range from simple aids such as post-it notes and calendars to, more recently, assistive devices which attempt to provide reminders at appropriate times, capture details of important events, or aid with performing complex tasks. In this paper we extend the state of the art by reporting on a pervasive system designed to 'orientate' a person with memory problems by reminding them in real time of details and personal memories of their surroundings. We describe a three-level architecture, consisting of a novel wearable sensing device, mobile phone, and Internet service, where each level is less constrained in terms of energy and offers greater computational capability. This kind of distributed architecture for a memory aid has not been reported before. The wearable device typically draws 38.5mA of current, allowing a full day's operation on a single charge. We demonstrate the operation of the system, which successfully identifies the faces of those nearby and shows their names on the mobile phone.