Why door alarms get switched off
A simple door alarm sounds for every visitor, carer and delivery. Within weeks it is ignored or unplugged, and then it protects no one. The problem isn't the door sensor. It's that a door opening is not the same thing as someone leaving.
How a wandering alert works
- Movement inside heading for the door, from radar and movement sensors that record no image.
- The door opens: front, back, side gate or garage roller door.
- Someone is seen walking away by an optional outdoor camera that knows which way a person is moving.
- No further movement inside. Only then is it a probable exit, sent with a snapshot so the first decision is made from the picture.
At night it is urgent. During the day, or while a carer is checked in, the same events are simply logged. In development
Wandering alert or GPS tracker?
Both, often. A GPS tracker helps find someone after they have gone, provided it is worn and charged. A wandering alert tells you as they leave, with nothing to wear, which is often early enough to meet them at the gate. Southerly works alongside whatever tracker or personal alarm the person already has.
Built for the care team
- Alerts by app, SMS, email or voice call, escalating if nobody answers. SMS and email live
- A night-time activity log, so the GP or occupational therapist can see the pattern, not just the incidents.
- Its own 4G connection and battery back-up, and a fault alert if anything stops working, because the person can't be expected to notice.
Honest limits
The system can tell that someone left. Without a small tag the person carries, it cannot prove it was them rather than a visitor. It tells a person to go and check; it does not replace supervision. The sequence-based exit alert is in development and is tuned to each home in the first weeks.
See the full independent living setup, including fall detection and bed sensor alarms.
Questions we get asked
What is the difference between a wandering alarm and a door alarm?
A door alarm sounds every time a door opens, so it goes off for visitors, carers and deliveries, and most families switch it off within weeks. A wandering alert only goes off when the pattern looks like the person leaving: movement inside towards the door, the door opening, someone walking away outside, and then no further movement inside.
Do we need a GPS tracker as well?
They do different jobs, and many families use both. A GPS tracker tells you where someone is after they have gone, if they are wearing it and it is charged. A wandering alert tells you the moment they leave, with nothing to wear or charge, so you can often stop it at the door.
Will it go off when carers or family visit?
Not if they check in. Support workers check in at the door or in an app, and alerts can follow the care roster, so daytime visits are logged rather than alarmed.
Are there cameras in the house?
No. Inside the home it uses radar and movement sensors, which record no image. Optional cameras go outside, pointing at the exits, and only nominated family or clinicians can view them.
Who gets the alert at night?
Whoever the care plan names: family, a support worker, or a personal-alarm monitoring centre. If the first person does not acknowledge, it escalates to the next.