Now an assistant professor at University of Washington, Shwetak Patel was named one of Technology Reviews 2009 Young Innovators for his work on simple sensors capable of detecting the activities of residents in the home. During his PhD research at the Georgia Inistute of Technology, Patel discovered the line of research using the infrastructure already in place in many homes. With fairly inexpensive monitoring technology plugged into the powerlines, installed in the venitlation system, on the water lines or the gas line, the technology reveals aspects of the home operation and the residents activities. This information can be very useful for understanding the well-being of the home as well as its residents.

Article: Shwetak Patel, 27, University of Washington, "Simple sensors to detect residents' activities.