Benidorm City Council has given its approval to a pilot initiative to improve telecare services in homes for the aged and vulnerable. The application employs data from electricity and water supply companies, as well as artificial intelligence (AI). The new method evaluates a variety of parameters, enabling users to assess their need for assistance without being intrusive.
‘Telecare Benidorm. Internet of People’ has 30 users signed up for the municipal telecare program, and 52 households have been watched. This initiative, which was designed by Global Energy & Trading (GET) and Iotsens in collaboration with the Department of Social Welfare, was included in the project. Vicente Porcar, the head of GET, demonstrated the company’s success in telecare and the possibilities of exporting the Benidorm model nationally and worldwide once it has been proven in the city. It is scheduled to launch in 2023, with assistance from the Valencian Innovation Agency (AVI), the Valencian Institute for Research in Artificial Intelligence at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, and Hidraqua. The City Council and the AVI jointly funded its creation, which cost 135,000 euros.
Real-time data on water and electricity consumption for each participating household is cross-referenced with an alarm system tailored to the individual’s profile. The system sends a notification to the contact phone number when an abnormality occurs, such as excessive or nonexistent consumption at unexpected times. The contact person is then contacted, followed by Social Welfare and 112, respectively.
According to data presented during the press conference, 485 alarms were issued in the last five months, 133 of which were due to deviations from normal consumption, with 20 successful interventions. In terms of immediacy, we detected the majority of these signals within 45 minutes, potentially saving lives.
The City Council plans to continue providing this service, which is open to more customers on a voluntary basis. They will also look into other applications for the service and have stated a desire to share the model with other administrations interested in improving service to their inhabitants in this way.
According to the mayor, “It’s one of the best and clearest examples of how to leverage technology to serve people,” particularly when the method is “non-invasive and doesn’t interfere with their daily lives, but that provides a wealth of information, which is especially important in the case of elderly people living alone, who have the peace of mind of knowing that at the slightest alert, they will be cared for and looked after.”
Porcar applauded the effort, calling it the “beginning of a new era in the field of telecare and senior care.” He emphasised that “its reach goes far beyond” our borders because “on an international level, it is also a completely new tool.” The speaker noted that Benidorm, “in addition to being a leading tourist centre, is also once again an international benchmark from a technological and personal care perspective,” while predicting that “in a very short space of time, this project, which is part of the Benidorm City Council, will be successfully exported to many other municipalities.”
Ana María Esparcia Bascuñán, a Benidorm resident, emphasised the necessity of this service for individuals living alone since it provides security and assistance when needed.
Author: Derek Appleton
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