Distress Detection
When Mum or Dad can't call, ELLO does.
Some moments don't trigger an alarm. The chest-clutch in the kitchen. The slump against the sofa. The struggle to get up that lasts a minute too long. ELLO notices them, even when Mum or Dad can't say so.
What is distress detection?
Distress detection is ELLO's ability to notice the moments that aren't quite emergencies but still need someone to know. Not a fall. Not smoke. Not the front door opening at 3am.
The in-between moments. The ones that show up on Mum or Dad's face and body before they show up as a crisis. Someone clutching their chest. Someone slumped against the sofa in a way that doesn't look right. Someone lying still in a place they wouldn't usually lie. Someone struggling to stand up — and not making it on the third try.
These are the moments traditional cameras miss.
The signs ELLO notices
ELLO's distress detection is built to notice the visual cues that anyone in the room would recognise. They include:
- Someone clutching their chest or stomach
- Someone slumping against furniture in a way that doesn't look right
- Someone lying still in a place they wouldn't normally lie down, the floor, the hallway, the bathroom
- Someone struggling to stand up, gripping the chair, pushing off the floor, falling back into a sitting position
- Sudden stillness in someone who was just moving, usually a sign something happened that ELLO didn't quite catch as a fall
When ELLO sees one of these, you get a calm alert in the app, not an alarm. Often it'll turn out to be nothing. Sometimes it'll be the moment that mattered.
Frequently asked questions about distress detection
Fall detection catches the dramatic moment, when someone hits the ground. Distress detection catches the moment before, or the moment that doesn't quite look like a fall but still needs attention. Someone clutching their chest. Someone slumped in a chair in a way that doesn't look right. The two work together. Vision One does both, you don't have to choose.
ELLO is trained on real-world examples of physical distress, the visual cues that any person in the room would recognise. Someone clutching their chest. Someone slumping. Someone lying still in an unusual place. Someone struggling to stand up. ELLO doesn't learn Mum or Dad's specific patterns. It recognises the universal visual signs of something being wrong, the same things a sibling, a helper, or a doctor would notice if they were watching.
No. Like with falls, ELLO doesn't contact SCDF, the police, or any emergency service on its own. ELLO tells you what it noticed, shows you a short video, and lets you decide. Some alerts will mean call the ambulance. Some will mean call Mum directly. Some will mean drive over. ELLO does the noticing. The decision stays with the family.
No. ELLO is trained to recognise specific visual cues, not just unusual stillness. Mum napping on the couch won't trigger an alert. Dad sitting quietly to watch TV won't either. What does trigger an alert: Mum slumped at an unnatural angle, Dad on the floor in a place he wouldn't usually be, someone visibly struggling. You can also adjust sensitivity in the app if you want fewer alerts in certain rooms or times.
That happens. ELLO sometimes sends an alert for what turns out to be nothing, Mum sitting on the floor to fold laundry, Dad lying down on the carpet because his back hurts. You'll see a short video clip in the app within seconds, so you can decide quickly whether to call or let it be. Most families say they'd rather get one false alert than miss one real one.