Nest Labs, the Google LLC-owned home automation division of the company, is reportedly looking at getting into a new market: senior citizens.

CNBC wrote Google’s intention is to develop products that will help seniors live independently for as long as possible. At the moment, a slew of ideas is floating around as to how this can be made possible.

The reports so far suggest one of those ideas is using motion sensors around the house to turn on lights automatically when people are moving in the dark. If it’s hot and people are moving around, Google is apparently thinking about using the sensors to notify old folks they should drink some fluids.

Those sensors might even be able to tell when someone has fallen, and then raise an alarm. This could be particularly useful seeing how many old people take falls – sometimes life-threatening – in the U.S. each year. The Center for Disease Control says fall deaths have been increasing sharply in the U.S., with more than one in four older people taking a tumble every year.

Grant Wedner is reportedly leading the effort to make aging safer, although his LinkedIn profile only says he’s “doing something interesting at Google.” Prior to joining Google, Wedner was a director at design consulting company IDEO, where he worked on health-related design.

Taking care of elder citizens is a pressing concern, given that now the Baby Boomer generation is getting on in years, the number of people living in assisted-living environments is expected to be double of what it is today by 2030. This has been called the “2030 problem,” and no doubt there’s a place for automated technologies to help.

Nest already has products out which can help the aged get by more easily, including the use of cameras inside the home through which loved ones can keep an eye on their families. Nest also provides security systems, such as smart locks and alarms, that can help keep seniors safe at home.

Nest’s chief technology officer, Yoky Matsuoka, is set to reveal more when she speaks at the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing and Care conference later this year.

Image: Chris Marchant via Flickr