Sending elderly relatives to retirement communities may soon be a thing of the past, thanks to the growing range of technologies designed to passively monitor and provide assistance in our own homes.

Designed to unobtrusively monitor people as they go about their lives, ambient assisted living technology is allowing more people to remain independent for longer, and is projected to see significant adoption in the next five years, according to a report published yesterday.

Covering an array of smart home technologies, ambient assisted living is tailored to each user, but common technologies include those for fall detection, such as the UK-based Softcare, drug administration, such as the Parkinson’s-targeting Help, and Alzheimer’s care gadgets, such as Forget Me Not. These typically use artificial intelligence, algorithms and sensors to monitor and respond as required.

While many of the technologies are still at a trial stage, some products are already on the market, and with more in the pipeline, major growth is projected for the field.

“The ambient assisted living market size is estimated to grow from $1.2bn in 2015 to $3.96bn by 2020, at a compound annual growth rate of of 22.4% between 2015 and 2020,” explained Reportlinker, which published an extensive report on the subject.

“The growing aging population and rising demands for managed healthcare would drive the ambient assisted living market.”

As part of this trend, Reportlinker is also projecting significant growth in security tech, as fears about safety continue to rise among all ages.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, telemedicine is also expected to see a major surge in adoption, with the elderly expected to make significant use of this service.

“Medical assistive products and telemedicine / telemonitoring markets are expected to grow at higher rates compared to other segments during the forecast period,” explained Reportlinker, referring to the period from now until 2020.

“Increasing aging population demand for managed healthcare and increasing chronic diseases among people are major driving factors for the growth of this market.”

While the elderly are typically considered to be the least tech-savvy age group, the generation of baby boomers now heading into retirement are likely to be far more open to technology than previous generations.

With user-friendly technologies such as iPads now ubiquitous across all age groups, technology has become a normal part of life for the retirees of the future, and so any technology that can maintain people’s ways of life is likely to be welcomed.

Initially such technologies are unlikely to have a major impact on the numbers of people entering retirement homes, but if they continue to grow in use and sophistication, being sent to an old folks home really could become a thing of the past.