What is I.L.S.A.?

The Independent LifeStyle Assistant ^TM monitoring system (I.L.S.A.) is a research program funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and Honeywell Laboratories. The 2.5 year, $5 million program is designed to advance home automation, software reasoning, user-interface design, and machine learning technologies in the context of elder home-care. As a research program, our focus is on technology development rather than product development. The I.L.S.A. concept is in an early stage of development, one in which we must demonstrate the feasibility of these technologies in the home setting.

The goal is to develop a behavior monitoring system with:

• sensors, including motion, camera, temperature, IR, contact switches, blood pressure, heart rate, pressure pads, toilet flush, microphone, etc
• actuators, including light control, power, thermostat, door lock, water flow, etc
• user interaction devices, including security panel, web browser, television, speakers, telephone, etc
• connections to remote sites, via the internet, telephones, pagers, etc