Blog / Fall detection

How fall detection works, and why the best kind is not worn

September 2026   5 minute read

Fall detection has quietly become one of the most useful things technology does for older people living at home. But the phrase covers two very different approaches, and the difference decides whether it actually helps when it matters.

The two kinds of fall detection

The first kind is worn. A pendant or a watch with motion sensors that measure impact, angle and speed, and raise an alert when they think a fall has happened. The second kind is contactless. A sensor in the room, usually radar, that watches for a fall without anything being worn at all.

How worn fall detection works

A pendant or watch uses built in sensors tuned to sudden, heavy movement. When it thinks a fall has occurred it usually gives a short voice window so the wearer can cancel a false alarm, then it calls for help. It is simple, and it travels with the person, which is genuinely useful away from home.

The honest limits are the ones the alarm companies themselves list. It only works while it is worn and charged. It can miss a slow slump, a braced fall or a low fall, and it does nothing at all while it is sitting in the top drawer, which, dignity being what it is, is often exactly where it ends up.

How contactless radar works

A radar sensor sits in the room and watches movement, not the person. It learns the normal rhythm of the space, notices a fall in seconds, and does it all without a camera and without anything to wear or charge. Because it watches the room, it still works in the shower, in the night, and when someone cannot reach or press a button.

Wearable and contactless, side by side

Neither is perfect, and that is the point. A worn device goes everywhere the person goes, which matters if they are out and about. A room sensor asks nothing of the person and catches the falls that happen where most falls happen, at home.

So which one

If the person reliably wears and charges a device and spends a lot of time out of the house, a wearable earns its place. If the real risk is at home, at night, or if there is any chance they would not or could not press a button, contactless radar is the stronger safety net. Plenty of households choose the room based approach for one simple reason: the pendant kept ending up in the drawer.

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