WA student uses Xbox for aged monitoring A PERTH student has devised a low-cost home monitoring system for the sick, elderly or disabled using an off-the-shelf Xbox Kinect game console. As part of research project, Edith Cowan University computer science honours student Laurence Da Luz developed software that utilised the built-in motion detection features within an Xbox Kinect to continually track a person's movements in their home and 'learn' their daily routine. The system can identify when an individual's activity is out of the ordinary - for example, if they miss a meal or don't get out of bed. The system then has the potential to contact a family member via SMS or email. It can also provide early warnings signs for poor health, Mr Da Luz said. "It continuously monitors daily activity and converts the data into a downloadable graph, giving a wider picture of the individual's behavioural patterns," he said. For example, it could show if they are sleeping longer or moving around less than they were a month ago. Mr Da Luz said there was a need for an easily managed, low-cost home monitoring system. "With an ageing population, the idea of growing old within familiar surroundings has become more and more important," he said. Currently in-home monitoring is either done by daily visits from a carer, through supervised monitoring using sensors attached directly to a person or through a central system, which can require rewiring of the entire house. All three options are expensive and disruptive. Mr Da Luz hopes to trial the software in an aged care setting. The project has been shortlisted as a finalist in the 2013 WA Information Technology and Telecommunications Awards. Mr Da Luz has already had success with the awards, leading a team of students who won the tertiary student project category in 2012 for an app that transforms a smartphone into an emergency beacon.