On development of a pervasive computing aided assistive systems for the elderly in Internet of Things

With the rapid development of sensors, wireless communication, and computing technology, Internet of Things (IoT) has gained significant research interest. In particular, increasing people-oriented applications and systems have been developed to improve the quality of life with intelligent services. In this paper, we propose a situational awareness system based on pervasive computing. In response to the current situation of a large number of elderly people living alone or lacking care, an intelligent assistance system model for elderly people living alone is proposed, aiming to solve problems such as forgetting to turn off lights caused by memory decline, falls caused by mobility impairment, and loss of dementia elderly people. Furthermore, we adopt the OSGi architecture to implement the proposed system. In addition, a virtual device module is designed to shield underlying device heterogeneity ensuring seamless collaboration between devices and services. To further enhance the system's capabilities, optical sensors are integrated for intelligent health monitoring, enabling real-time tracking of vital signs such as heart rate and respiratory rate, as well as early detection of potential health anomalies. To make services transparent to users, we explore the integration methods of distributed sensors and intelligent devices in pervasive computing environments. Experimental results indicate that the system can effectively improve the comfort and safety of elderly people’s lives, enhance the convenience of daily affairs and risk prevention and control capabilities. Therefore, the developed system not only provides a technical framework for intelligent assistance systems for the elderly, but also has significant implications for the application of pervasive computing in the field of social welfare.