Everywhere you look, artificial intelligence is making headlines, and the world of Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS for short) is no exception.
Admittedly, there is a perception by some that PERS is dominated by trailing-edge products. And while most PERS solutions have not changed much in appearance over the last decade, the tech inside has continued to advance and improve, often taking advantage of the latest developments in cellular and sensing technology.
Few other markets are growing as explosively as the PERS market in North America. Every day, there are 10,000 newly classified senior citizens in the U.S. alone, many of whom are not only good candidates for PERS solutions but are actively seeking out solutions that allow them to extend the amount of time they ‘age in place’ – in other words, to stay in their own home living independently.
PERS providers can tap into this expanding market by offering attractive and even fun products that seniors will actively seek out. The PERS world is chock full of exciting developments, with attractive new products and technologies available to replace the staid and utilitarian offerings common just a few short years ago. This, in turn, is offering alternative avenues of potential profit and new customers for providers like security integrators.
With 2025’s iteration of CES now in the books, even more, AI-enabled PERS solutions came to the forefront – either already available or at least announced. With dozens of new names and entrants endlessly throwing around buzzwords, it can be hard to separate the hype and the solutions that aren’t quite fully baked from what’s real and ready for real-world use.
Let’s take a closer look at how these AI-powered developments are transforming the PERS industry:
Large Language Models (LLMs)
One of the most visible and fastest evolving uses of AI is the deployment of Large Language Models (LLMs) that allow chatbots and IVR systems to have complex, convincing conversations with end-users. LLMs have been used to automate drive through and room service ordering, assist travelers with booking flights and reserving cars, and are even used to provide some types of customer or technical support. The same AI-driven engines providing these services are now being adapted to the world of PERS.
LLMs have a variety of potential applications with PERS, some of which are already being actively used in the marketplace. For example, one of the biggest challenges in providing PERS service is the high frequency of ‘false’ alarms – both inadvertent and intentional device activations when no real emergency has occurred. These unnecessary activations result in thousands of unneeded phone calls and wasted operator hours.
LLM-driven IVRs can not only determine if an end-user requires assistance but can engage with them on a variety of topics at a fraction of the cost of a monitoring operator. Seniors can be queried on their health, how they are feeling, if they are taking prescription drugs regularly, or even if they caught last night’s game – all while freeing up human operators to quickly handle genuine emergencies and customer requests. In many cases, users don’t even realize they are speaking with an AI.
Enhanced Fall Detection
Another way AI and machine learning are making an impact on the PERS market is through improved fall detection. The ability to accurately detect falls with few false alarms is a key capability for most PERS products. Users can become quickly frustrated with products that are too easy to falsely set off. Big players like Apple and Garmin have found this out the hard way with their initial iterations of fall detection resulting in many stories of unwarranted automated calls to 911.
By combining more physical sensors having greater resolution with more powerful processing chips, modern PERS devices are much better at telling the difference between a ‘real’ fall and other normal activity than their predecessors.
Add to this the ability for the newest PERS devices to ‘learn’ what a user’s regular activity ‘looks’ like – whether it be walking, jogging, biking, hiking, or even lounging – and you end up with fall detection solutions that are highly accurate at detecting falls and unusual activity with few if any false detections.
Passive PERS
Another big change on the horizon for the PERS is the introduction of “Passive” PERS technologies. Vendors like Vayaar, Cherish Health, and Nobi have introduced passive solutions that purport to detect end-user activity and even falls without the need for a wearable pendant or sensor. While the claims and technology are impressive, the adoption of these products has been held back by a combination of high cost, sensitivity to correct placement or being moved, complex installation requirements often requiring an expensive trained installer to visit user’s homes, and a resistance by potential users to solutions that rely on cameras and video analytics to monitor activity.
AI and other technologies have changed this paradigm. A rapid decrease in the cost of the sophisticated sensors required for passive PERS to work has made the economics more palatable, and technologies including radar, LiDAR, and Wi-Fi/RF sensing have gone from exotic to commodity. This has led to a drastic reduction in solutions that rely on video cameras and analytics.
Editor’s Note: Read more about how millimeter wave technology is being used for fall detection at www.securityinfowatch.com/55264065.
Additionally, improvements in machine learning and AI have made the solutions much better at “learning” about a particular end-user’s behaviors. For example, some offerings can detect much more than just trips and falls – they can identify Activities of Daily Life (ADLs), including sleeping/waking, meals, and bathroom use – allowing these products to perform predictive analysis and even prognosticate about future health issues based on subtle behavior changes.
While these passive solutions remain a premium offering restricted to homebound users, they can be a boon for high-risk individuals or those who are resistant to wearing or using a conventional PERS pendant-based product.
Watches and Other Wearables
Many users spurn the use of a conventional PERS pendant, often due to a combination of embarrassment and discomfort. This has led manufacturers to embrace alternative form factors, creating products that are more smartwatch than help buttons.
The rapid acceptance of smartwatch technology has not gone unnoticed by PERS providers; in fact, most now offer a smartwatch or wrist wearable alternative to the conventional pendant form factor – targeting male users who, for example, may benefit from having a PERS device due to a chronic health condition. Many of these PERS watches have many of the same features as their mass-market counterparts, including pedometers and step tracking, heart rate monitoring, pulse oximetry, and even basic news and weather updates, combined with more PERS-tailored features like fall detection, medication reminders, and location tracking for use by caregivers and family members.
“Our Stride PERS Smartwatch has been incredibly popular with customers,” confirms Jesse Rivest, Head of Sales for Brighton Solutions. Since its introduction last year, Rivest says sales of the smartwatch have eclipsed conventional PERS products, especially with men aged 55-75.
“Instead of seeing it as an embarrassing symbol of frailty, users are actually excited to wear the Stride,” Rivest says. “They use it every day to count their steps or check the weather, and they will even show it off to their friends.”
Alternative PERS Uses
Across Europe, the same technologies that power modern PERS devices are being used for a variety of use-cases that don’t involve senior care. Most commonly, PERS-like devices are being used to provide emergency assistance and location tracking to lone workers who may not be able to rely on cell phones or who may work alone under dangerous conditions. Examples include retail workers prohibited from carrying a personal cell phone, social workers, utility technicians, couriers, and delivery people.
Another emerging use-case for PERS technology is pet tracking. As the cost of GPS, WiFi, and cellular components decreases, it is now possible to manufacture cost-competitive pet trackers that enable consumers to know within a few feet where their four-legged friend is at all times.
5G and Redcap Cellular Technology
Historically, PERS devices have not been at the forefront of cellular technology. 2G and 3G technologies were prevalent until fairly recently, and there remain a surprising number of landline-driven devices still in use.
As PERS devices increase in complexity and capability, expectations of reduced size, weight, and battery life are emerging as well. Thus, the newest generation of PERS devices leverage not just 4G LTE, but also the new 5G RedCap standard.
While RedCap is short for “reduced capabilities” because it is not as fast as standard 5G, it is far more advanced than 3G or even 4G technologies – all while using less power and allowing for smaller, lighter devices.
Products utilizing RedCap technology can be expected not only to be sleeker than preceding products, but to have as much as 30% longer battery life between recharges.
All of these innovations make PERS a solid investment for service providers. With the senior population exploding and technology rapidly improving, it represents a growth market, of which security integrators can take advantage.
