A surveillance system f or assisting the elderly in remaining independent in their f amiliar environment is one of the subjects interest in recent healthcare studies. When mature, it is expected that this system will have the ability to track objects that a resident may lose periodically, detect f alls within the home, alert f amily members or healthcare prof essionals to abnormal behaviors. This paper addresses the early stages and issues of the development of such a system, the physical characteristics of the system that is being designed, early results, and guidance on the f uture work that will have to be completed in the f uture.