Songpa-gu Uses IoT (Internet of Things) to Care for Elderly Living Alone

Real-time Monitoring of Movement, Indoor Temperature, etc.... Expansion from 125 Households to 190 Households in the First Half of This Year

Monitoring Dashboard

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Songpa-gu (Mayor Park Seong-su) is expanding its safety management project for elderly living alone using the Internet of Things (IoT).

The "Safety Management Solution for Elderly Living Alone (IoT) Project" installs IoT devices in the homes of elderly living alone to detect their movements, indoor temperature, illuminance, humidity, fire, gas, and other factors. This data is then transmitted to the smartphone app of a care worker, enabling real-time monitoring.

If no movement is detected for a certain period, indicating a possible abnormality, the assigned care worker immediately contacts or visits the elderly person's home to respond to the emergency situation.

Additionally, information collected by the IoT devices such as temperature, humidity, and illuminance will be used as basic data when distributing heating and cooling supplies and other welfare resources in preparation for cold waves or heatwaves. This aims to provide more efficient welfare support services.

In the case of Songpa-gu, it was selected as a pilot district for the Seoul city project in 2017 and installed IoT devices in 84 households of elderly living alone. Since then, the project has gradually expanded, and currently, 125 people are receiving safety management services using IoT.

This year, an additional 65 people will be added in the first half to receive benefits. If elderly living alone or care workers request service provision or determine that support is needed, they will be selected as additional beneficiaries in the first half of this year. However, those with illnesses may be prioritized for service provision.

Interested residents can inquire at the Songpa-gu Senior Welfare Division (2147-2920).

To effectively expand the project, Songpa-gu plans to provide training on the IoT project and device usage to 116 newly hired care workers and dedicated social workers on the 21st.

Currently, Songpa-gu is implementing customized care services for the elderly, including elderly living alone, basic livelihood security recipients aged 65 or older, low-income groups, or basic pension recipients.

Through this, services such as welfare checks, life education, hospital accompaniment, and housekeeping support are provided.

Park Seong-su, Mayor of Songpa-gu, stated, “As we enter an aging society, the number of elderly and elderly living alone who need care is rapidly increasing. We will do our best to actively apply advanced technology to administration to improve the quality of life for residents.”