Automatic fall detection for elderly by using features extracted from skeletal data

Abstract

Automatic detection of unusual events such as falls is very important especially for elderly people living alone. Realtime detection of these events can reduce the health risks associated with a fall. In this paper, we propose a novel method for automatic detection of fall event by using depth cameras. Depth images generated by these cameras are used in computing the skeletal data of a person. Our contribution is to use features extracted from the skeletal data to form a strong set of features which can help us achieve an increased precision at low redundancy. Our findings indicate that our features, which are derived from skeletal data, are moderately powerful for detecting unusual events such as fall.