Kelvin Summoogum, founder of miiCare, made a personal commitment to mitigate the risks to elderly people living alone, after the tragic loss of his grandmother, following a fall at home where she lay alone for many hours before being found.
Kelvin’s approach is truly person centred. He spent over a year working closely with a group of elderly people to understand their needs, before developing miiCUBE – AI-based assistive technology. The miiCUBE, which is slightly bigger than a rubix, connects to sensors around the home of an elderly person – which doesn’t rely on them having the internet. It’s simple to use and adapts to the elderly user, providing an unobtrusive companion.
Through a bracelet miiCube collects vital information about the persons’ health, including temperature, oxygen and movement, to help remotely manage care from loved ones who can’t always be there in person. Over the course of a week it builds a behaviour model for that person, to detect trends and abnormalities, which then raises an alert to carers.
The miiCare team joined the AI for Good Accelerator in February 2020, which according to them has been very educational across all three pillars of the programme, from technical development and commercial support to the social stream, which provided tools to manage impact – now integral to the way they think and plan. Chief Partnership Officer, Andy Smith told us the programme provided networking opportunities and introductions to some great people who have already provided insight and offered future assistance, in addition to raising £200,000 in funding during the programme.
“The conversations we are now having with potential partners, customers and investors include knowledge and skills we gained on the programme. Even mentioning that we are part of the 2020 AI for Good cohort has a positive impact, as the programme has a very positive reputation.”
Andy Smith, Chief Partnership Officer, miiCare
Case study published October 2020.