State-of-the-art radar technology for remote human fall detection: a systematic review of techniques, trends, and challenges

Human falls occur rarely; however, they can lead to severe consequences if not addressed immediately. With the rise of nuclear families, there has been a significant increase in the risk of unnoticed falls leading to even death. Therefore, an efficient fall monitoring system is essential for prompt assistance and minimizing fall risks. Several strategies have been proposed with technological advancements, and some devices are already available on the market. Among the proposed systems, radar technology has emerged as a state-of-the-art noninvasive technique due to its attractive and unique features, such as the ability to operate under occlusion, dirt, and fog without compromising the person’s privacy. This paper presents a systematic review of a state-of-the-art fall detection system based on radar technology. While various reviews on fall-related technologies exist, none specifically focus on radar-based systems. To our knowledge, we are the first to provide a review in such detail of state-of-the-art radar sensor-based fall detection. We comprehensively outline the radar-based fall monitoring system and the corresponding data processing techniques. Finally, we conclude our paper by discussing current trends, future research direction and challenges in this research field. This paper aims to help researchers in the field of noninvasive fall detection and facilitate future research.