In a scene that McKeesport city administrator Dennis Pittman says could be an episode of "The Jetsons," "Amy" takes a photograph as a resident walks through the door of his smart home.

"Amy" also lets the resident know when the door is open, if an appliance is on and how to evacuate during a fire alarm.

Amy is artificial intelligence among the technological fleet of voice-generation models, robotics and computer science used by McKeesport nonprofit Blueroof Technologies to help senior citizens and people with disabilities live more independently.

"It's very flattering to the city to host companies like Blueroof," said Mr. Pittman, who is among its board of directors. "Blueroof has used McKeesport as its working laboratory."

Senior citizens make up a little more than 22 percent of McKeesport's population.

Using nearly $1 million in grants from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, Blueroof is working to "keep seniors independent longer" and "avoid the costly move into assisted living facilities," said John Bertoty, executive director of Blueroof.

The group has been installing its Bluebox systems in McKeesport Towers -- a 200-unit high-rise for the elderly -- and Isbir Manor -- a 73-unit high-rise near Kane Regional Center.

In the first phase of the plan that will eventually spread throughout the city, Bluebox systems are high-definition entertainment systems that monitor and store information of activity within the home.

The systems, which cost about $2,500, include five motion sensors installed in the bedroom, bathroom and living room. Once the project is moved out of its testing phase, a caregiver will be notified whether a resident hasn't opened a refrigerator or left his bed for a day, Mr. Bertoty said.

The McKeesport Housing Authority, which manages the senior living centers, is working to establish receivers for those notifications, according to Diane Raible, deputy director of the authority.

"We're hoping to have family members notified. In the absence of family members, those alerts would likely be routed to 911," she said.

For now, Blueroof is collecting data and sharing it with Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, which are in the middle of a 10-year Quality of Life Technology Project funded by the National Science Foundation.

Blueroof also shares data documented at one of its other projects in Oakland: Bellefield Dwellings, a low-income senior living center. Residents there can take advantage of health kiosks that check blood pressure, weight and pulse and record it on a "wellness stick," a kind of flash drive that residents share with their medical caregivers, Mr. Bertoty said.

"It's allowing people to take ownership of their well-being," he said.

The seniors remain anonymous during the trial period, but the technology is giving them peace of mind, said Georgeann Chuchla, manager of Mc-Keesport Towers.

"It gives them a sense of security that if they would fall, someone would help them," Ms. Chuchla said.

Seniors like it as long as it doesn't invade their privacy, said Scott Beach, director of survey research at Pitt's University Center for Social and Urban Research.

"A lot of people aren't thrilled with having all of their behavior monitored," Mr. Beach said. "They'd rather not have video cameras in their home, especially in bedrooms and bathrooms."

Mr. Bertoty said video cameras are not used in the senior living high-rises.

The research collected from baby boomers and those already disabled differs, Mr. Beach said.

Baby boomers answer many what-if questions, and Mr. Beach theorized that it may be difficult to imagine themselves living without their independence, as they were most resistant to heavy monitoring.

Those who were more disabled, however, were more willing to trade privacy for security, he said.

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