In Memoriam device detects when someone dies alone - Dezeen

Designer Ony Yan has created a two-part strategy that tin beryllium installed successful single-person households to notify neighbours successful the lawsuit of their death, and was designed to "encourage a assemblage to look aft each other".

In Memoriam, a functional prototype strategy that tin beryllium installed successful homes, comprises a battery-powered odour detector and a awesome lamp that are linked by a wireless connection.

A awesome lamp lets passersby cognize that idiosyncratic has died

Subtle successful signifier and colour, the achromatic odour detector tin beryllium discretely fixed to a partition and reacts to the sulphur compounds that are released erstwhile a quality assemblage decays aft death.

The achromatic awesome lamp – which is placed astatine the entranceway of the location – past receives this accusation from the detector wirelessly. An in-built servomotor tilts the precocious portion of the lamp 45 degrees, revealing a glowing airy informed by candles that was designed to pull the attraction of neighbours and passersby.

The odour detector is composed of metal, wires and a circuit committee encased wrong polystyrene

"The odour detector hangs astatine oculus level – oregon breathing tallness – due to the fact that my chosen volatile integrated compounds arsenic indicators of decay, successful this case, sulphur compounds, are heavier than the ambient air," explained Ony.

"It is likewise comparable to installing c monoxide detectors, which are often placed astatine the aforesaid height."

It tin beryllium installed connected the partition of a surviving room

Ony created the task arsenic portion of her bachelor's thesis portion studying Industrial Design astatine Berlin's University of Applied Sciences.

The decorator told Dezeen that she created the task aft "a tragic case" successful her neighbourhood, wherever idiosyncratic died and their assemblage wasn't discovered until overmuch aboriginal erstwhile it had started to decay.

"I became alert of akin decease cases successful Berlin and realised done probe and interviews that this is an progressively planetary phenomenon," said Ony.

"The deceased are often discovered by household members without immoderate intelligence mentation and it is simply a precise traumatic experience. Rotten corpses besides request extended halfway renovations [to homes] and tin permission spaces uninhabited for a agelong time."

In Memoriam was created to promote assemblage cohesion

Ony explained that she chose polystyrene for the odour detector's casing for its electrical insulation, portion the metal-coated brass that covers the awesome lamp oxidises implicit clip and takes connected a akin colour and texture to the tegument of a corpse.

According to the designer, this intends to punctual members of the assemblage that the lamp is successful request of polishing – reinforcing its connection to attraction for your neighbours, and further encouraging radical to pass with each different successful municipality areas.

"In Memoriam translates arsenic 'to retrieve someone'. At the infinitesimal erstwhile the awesome lamp is lit, the airy not lone serves arsenic a awesome for the house's assemblage but besides symbolically remembers the deceased person," reflected Ony.

"The tilting mechanics of the lamp and the dilatory rising of the airy cone should besides symbolise the lighting of a mourning candle. I recovered the sanction suitable due to the fact that I would similar to not lone commemorate the deceased, but besides promote a assemblage to look aft each other."

Other death-related designs see a biodegradable urn by Claesson Koivisto Rune and a "living coffin" created from mushroom mycelium.

The images and video are courtesy of Ony Yan.