A 13-year-old inventor has turned a family emergency into a device designed to help older people who may be alone when they fall. Kevin Tang developed FallGuard after his grandmother suffered a fall at home that resulted in permanent brain damage. The problem became harder to ignore when Tang learned that a friend’s grandfather had also fallen while living alone, with his family unaware of the accident until the following day. Rather than create another wearable alert, Tang built a wall-mounted monitoring system that uses video analysis to recognise falls and unusual movements.The system is designed to work continuously, including at night, and can notify caregivers when it detects a possible emergency. 3M named Tang America’s Top Young Scientist in October 2025 and awarded him $25,000 for the invention. FallGuard currently costs about $90 in materials to build, although Tang is trying to bring that figure down to around $30 as he looks towards wider use.
Kevin Tang’s personal experience inspired a fall detection device
For families caring for older relatives, a fall can be difficult to monitor when nobody is in the house. An accident may happen in a bedroom, hallway or bathroom and remain undiscovered for hours, particularly when the person lives alone.Figures cited by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put the scale of the problem into perspective. Falls are the leading cause of injury among older adults, with more than 14 million people aged 65 and over reporting a fall each year.Tang encountered that risk through his own family. His grandmother’s fall made the issue more than a distant statistic, while a similar incident involving the grandfather of one of his friends gave him another example of what can happen when relatives are not nearby.That second case was particularly striking to him because the man’s family did not learn that he had fallen until the following day.
How Kevin Tang’s FallGuard detects falls without a wearable
Tang’s response was to build a monitoring system that stays in the home rather than on the person being monitored.FallGuard is designed to be fixed to a wall and uses a camera to analyse movement. Its software looks for patterns associated with a fall and can send an alert to a caregiver when one is detected. The system is also intended to work in low-light conditions, allowing it to monitor a room after dark.There is another part of the project that goes beyond simply recognising someone hitting the floor. According to 3M, which organised the young scientist competition, Tang’s algorithm can identify unusual movements that may point towards other medical problems, including a possible stroke.The approach also avoids a familiar problem with wearable alert devices. A pendant or wrist-mounted sensor can only help if the person remembers to wear it and keeps it charged. A wall-mounted system does not depend on either.
How Kevin Tang’s love of experimenting led to FallGuard
Tang’s interest in making things was already familiar to his family. His father, Yang Tang, has described his son as someone who liked inventing and experimenting with what he called “strange stuff” around the house.Even so, Yang was initially unaware of the scale of the FallGuard project. When his son eventually showed him what he had built, the family began considering how the device might be used outside their own home.The project was not developed simply as a school exercise. Tang wanted it to address a problem that families could encounter without having to purchase an expensive specialist system.
How Kevin Tang plans to make FallGuard cheaper for families
The materials needed to build the current version cost about $90 per unit. Tang has been working on the design with a much lower figure in mind, aiming to bring the materials cost down to around $30.The reduction would make a significant difference if the system were eventually used by larger numbers of households. Tang has also received interest from security-camera companies since his science competition win, suggesting there may be potential for the technology to be developed further. For now, however, FallGuard remains a relatively small project.The Tang family uses the system themselves, and one other family has also installed it. More than 10 families were reported to be waiting to receive a device.
Kevin Tang now wants FallGuard in more homes
Winning the national competition brought Tang recognition and a substantial prize, but the next stage is less about the award itself and more about whether FallGuard can become something families can reliably use.The device has already moved beyond the first household where it was tested. Tang is continuing to work on its design and cost while interest grows from families and companies.His starting point was a simple observation: when an older person falls alone, the most serious problem may not be the fall itself but the time before anyone knows it happened.
