This project was developed as part of our 2nd semester project at the University of Moratuwa. The objective of this project is to design and implement a device that detects falls in elderly people and sends a notification to a designated person via SMS.

Falls are a major health risk for elderly people, and timely assistance is crucial in such situations. Our fall detection device aims to address this issue by detecting falls using a gyroscope and accelerometer, and notifying a caretaker through a WiFi-enabled communication system.

• Fall Detection: Utilizes the MPU6050 gyroscope and accelerometer to detect falls.
• Notification System: Sends an SMS to a predefined contact when a fall is detected.
• WiFi Communication: Uses the ESP8266 module to connect to a WiFi network and send notifications.
• Custom PCB Design: Designed using Altium.
• Enclosure Design: Modeled and simulated using SOLIDWORKS.

Our fall detection algorithm is based on analyzing movement patterns and accelerations using the MPU6050 sensor. Here are the key concepts:

• Movement Indication:

  • Messages are sent to the HiveMQ server under the topic "Notifications" to indicate various movements.

• Fall Detection:

  • Falls are identified when the resultant acceleration drops near zero, then suddenly increases to a value higher than 1g, and finally decreases back to around 1g.

• Walking Detection:

  • Walking is identified when the longitudinal acceleration is about 1g, and the resultant acceleration has slightly higher values, approximately 1.1g.

• Getting Up Detection:

  • Getting up from the bed is detected when the longitudinal acceleration increases, and the turned angle approaches 90 degrees.

• MPU6050: Gyroscope and accelerometer module for motion detection.
• ESP8266: WiFi module for internet connectivity.
• Custom PCB: Designed with Altium for integrating the components.
• Enclosure: Designed with SOLIDWORKS to house the device.

You can view and interact with the simulation of our fall detection device on the Wokwi platform. Click here to view the simulation.

• Arduino IDE: To program the ESP8266 module.
• Libraries: Ensure you have the following libraries installed:
  • Adafruit_MPU6050
  • Adafruit_Sensor
  • ESP8266WiFi
  • ESP8266HTTPClient

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone [email protected]:Medmindz/Codes.git
   cd fall-detection-device

2. Open the project in Arduino IDE:

   • Open fall_detection.ino in the Arduino IDE.

3. Configure WiFi and Twilio Credentials:

   • Update the SSID and PASSWORD variables in the code with your WiFi credentials. Also Add your setuped twilio account sid and auth token

4. Upload the Code:

   • Connect your microcontroller(Atemga328PU) to your computer and upload the code using the Arduino IDE.

Once the device is powered on and connected to a WiFi network:

• It will continuously monitor the motion data from the MPU6050.
• When a fall is detected, the device will send an SMS notification to the predefined contact.

• PCB Design: Available in the pcb directory (Altium project files).
• Enclosure Design: Available in the enclosure directory (SOLIDWORKS files).

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.

We would like to thank our professors and the University of Moratuwa for their support and guidance throughout this project.

Team MedMinds - University of Moratuwa