10 March 2025

Configuring sensor rules

Canary Care

Configuring sensor rules

How can setting ‘rules’ for your sensors enhance safety and support for independent senior living?

The Canary Care home monitoring system transforms home care for loved ones by providing real-time activity data that supports their safety and independence discreetly and effectively. Our multifunction sensors offer a wide variety of valuable insights including:

Movement.
Door Activity & State.
Temperature.
Light Levels.

Our sensors offer a significant advantage over traditional wearable devices, such as an alarm necklace or pendant alarm, by providing round-the-clock, non-intrusive monitoring that also supports the UK government’s ‘Home First’ approach to adult social care.

Through Canary Care’s online portal, you can easily configure “rules” to a motion detector sensor to monitor specific activities within certain time periods and detect abnormalities in daily habits. Setting rules can help identify various situations, such as potential falls, if a loved one has gotten out of bed, property entry and exit, or temperature changes that may indicate hypothermia, cardiovascular, or respiratory risks.

By setting up sensors throughout the home, you’re able to monitor activity unique to your loved one’s routine and adapt your assistance to their care needs. Let’s take a look at these rules in more detail.

How do I configure a new rule?

It’s simple:

1. Log into the Canary Care portal via a web browser, either on a desktop computer, tablet, or mobile phone.

2. Select ‘Rules’ from the ‘Configure’ menu on the left of the portal dashboard.

3. Select which multifunction sensor you wish to add a new rule for, then click ‘Add New Rule’.

4. Add a ‘Rule Type’ you want the sensor to detect and fill in the required fields.

What ‘rules’ can I configure?

It’s important to identify rules that will best suit the needs of the person you’re caring for. For example, if they often leave the house during later hours of the day, wake up frequently during the night, or are at risk of falling without assistance, tailored rules can help monitor these activities and alert you when necessary.

Rule Type: ‘No Movement Detected’

The ‘No Movement Detected’ rule lets you track your loved one’s routine by notifying you when expected activity doesn’t occur in areas of the home where you’d usually expect activity to be registered.

Suggested Use – Monitoring Usual Activity: If your loved one typically starts the day around the same time, let’s say at 7:30am, you can set up a ‘No Movement Detected’ rule for a sensor placed in the hallway or landing between 7am and 9am. This way, you’ll be alerted if they don’t leave their bedroom in the morning as expected.

Suggested Use – Monitoring Regular Eating Patterns: The ‘No Movement Detected’ rule can also be used to monitor whether your loved one is eating at regular mealtimes. Place a sensor and door magnet either in a fridge or cupboard door and set the rule to be active between 11:30am and 1pm.

Rule Type: ‘House Unoccupied’

The ‘House Unoccupied’ rule helps you monitor if your loved one has left the property. This rule functions in two stages:

Arming: The rule will ‘arm’ when the specified door sensor (e.g. Front Door) detects the door opening or closing.
Triggering: The rule will then ‘trigger’ if no movement is detected on any other sensor within the home during a set timeframe, such as 15 minutes or an hour – indicating the home may be unoccupied.

This rule can be used on any exit routes from the home, whether it be the front door, back door, or side entrances.

Rule Type: ‘Remained Too Long’

The ‘Remained Too Long’ rule functions as a passive fall detection system, helping you monitor prolonged inactivity in specific areas of the home. While Canary Care is not an emergency falls alarm system, this rule can serve as a useful compliment to a personal fall alarm, providing added reassurance.

The rule operates in two stages:

Arming: The rule will ‘arm’ when movement is detected by a specified sensor entering an area of the home.
Triggering: If activity isn’t detected on any other sensor from arming within a set time frame, such as 30 minutes, the rule will trigger, signalling prolonged inactivity and a potential fall.

Suggested Use – Potential Fall in the Bathroom: If you’re concerned about falls in the bathroom, you can set a ‘Remained Too Long’ rule on a sensor. This will trigger an alert if no activity is detected elsewhere in the home in a 30-minute period throughout the day after initial movement is registered.

Rule Type: ‘No Movement For’ (X minutes in period Y)

The ‘No Movement For’ rule is ideal for monitoring areas of the home where your loved one typically spends significant time and where you’d expect to see regular movement, such as the living room. Unlike the ‘Remained Too Long’ rule, which helps detect extended stays in less-frequent areas like the bathroom or hallways, this rule operates in a single stage.

Suggested Use – No Movement in the Living Room: The rule will ‘trigger’ if no movement is detected by the specific sensor within a set period (e.g. 60 minutes) over a larger timeframe. If your loved one usually spends mornings in the living room, configure a ‘No Movement For’ rule on the living room sensor, active between 8am and 1pm. The rule will trigger an alert if there is no movement for any continuous 60-minute period within that time frame.

Each of our ‘rules’ offers unique capabilities to support the safety and independence of your loved ones, helping them stay confidently at home for longer.

Explore all the available ‘rules’ in the Canary Care portal or get in touch with our team to learn more.