University of Surrey Tests Smart Flooring to Prevent Falls Among Older Adults
Engineers at the University of Surrey in southern England are developing a “smart” flooring system designed to reduce injuries from falls among older adults while also detecting when a person has fallen. The ongoing laboratory study uses motion-tracking technology and adjustable floor panels to explore how different surface types affect balance, stability and fall risk.
Analysing Balance Through Motion Tracking
In the experiment, volunteers are fitted with reflective markers as infrared cameras record how they stand and walk across test areas. The stiffness of each floor section can be changed from soft to firm, allowing researchers to observe how variations in surface conditions influence posture, step length and overall stability.
The engineering team also treats the floor as a passive sensing surface that can map how people move through a space and detect motion patterns that may signal a higher risk of falling.
“The idea of this project is to create a floor that can protect people when they fall, but also one that senses their presence and detects if they fall,” said Dr Iman Mohagheghian, Associate Professor in Mechanics of Materials. “Smart flooring should not only lower the risk of serious injury but also serve as a large sensing area.”
Striking the Right Balance
The current research phase involves healthy adults of varying ages, focusing particularly on people aged 65 and above. Participants perform standing and walking tasks in a controlled indoor environment while researchers collect data to build computer models simulating how the human body interacts with the ground during a fall. These models trace how impact forces move through the hips, spine and head.
Dr Mohagheghian said the challenge lies in finding the right balance between softness and stability. “We want to make the floor soft enough to lower the impact force and protect the hip and other parts of the body during a fall,” he explained. “But at the same time, we don’t want it to be so soft that it affects balance or mobility.”
Toward Safer Living Spaces
The University of Surrey team hopes its findings will guide the design of flooring systems that feel firm under normal use but deform on impact to absorb energy. Such systems could reduce the severity of fractures and head injuries in hospitals, care homes and private housing.
The project remains at the laboratory stage, and researchers say commercial deployment would require collaboration with industry partners to translate the prototype into a scalable, real-world product.
Globally, around one in three adults aged 65 and older suffers a fall each year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Falls are the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths worldwide, underscoring the importance of innovations that make everyday environments safer for ageing populations.
with inputs from Reuters
