Association between indoor occupancy and home spatial attributes of older adults’ daily living based on computer vision

What happens behind doors when aging in place? Older adults who remain sedentary for long periods risk losing mobility, raising the question: how can home environments better them? Despite the growing need for age-friendly housing, fundamental quantitative research on indoor occupancy and its link to spatial attributes, remains limited, making evidence-based home design challenging. This study aims to explore how spatial attributes influence daily occupancy in older adults’ living rooms. Associations between activity occupancy and home spatial attributes were examined in five apartments and we used a computer vision-based behavioral research method with a nonintrusive approach to develop recognition algorithms for detection. Activity occupancy was evaluated by 0.5 m × 0.5 m grid analysis, whereas spatial attributes were simulated via space syntax analysis. The correlation study showed that all five cases shared a significant spatial metrics – isovist drift angle, aligning with existing studies. These findings highlight the isovist drift angle as a key parameter for assessing spatial complexity and regularity in design. This explains the balance between spatial richness and environmental stress, supporting daily independent living. It also helps assess and optimize space affordance for older adults’ indoor behavior during the design stage.