'Wi-Fi Signals Can Be Used to Count People Within an Area'

Advertisement
By Press Trust of India | Updated: 9 June 2015 16:23 IST
'Wi-Fi Signals Can Be Used to Count People Within an Area'
Researchers have demonstrated that a Wi-Fi signal can be used to count the number of people in a given space, an advance that may one day lead to improved search-and-rescue efforts during a disaster.

"Our approach can estimate the number of people walking in an area, based on only the received power measurements of a Wi-Fi link," said Yasamin Mostofi, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of California - Santa Barbara.

This approach does not require people to carry Wi-Fi-enabled telecommunications devices for them to be counted, Mostofi said.

To enable people-counting through Wi-Fi, researchers put two Wi-Fi cards at opposite ends of a target area, a roughly 70-square-metre space.

Using only the received power measurements of the link between the two cards, their approach can estimate the number of people walking in that area.

Advertisement

So far, they have successfully tested with up to and including nine people in both indoor and outdoor settings.

This people-counting method relies in large part on the changes of the received wireless signal, according to the researchers.

Advertisement

The presence of people attenuates the signal in the direct line of sight between the Wi-Fi cards if a person crosses the line of sight, and human bodies also scatter the signal - resulting in a phenomenon called multi-path fading - when they are not in the direct line of sight path.

By developing a probabilistic mathematical framework based on these two key phenomena, the researchers have then proposed a way of estimating the number of people walking in the space.

Advertisement

The findings have potential for many diverse applications. For instance, the ability to estimate the number of people in a given space could be used in smart homes and buildings, so air conditioning and heating could be adjusted according to the level of occupancy.

Security and search-and-rescue operations could also take advantage of occupancy estimation, researchers said.

Previous work in the research lab involved imaging stationary objects/humans through walls with Wi-Fi signals, and Mostofi plans to eventually bring the two projects together in the future.

 

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Internet, Telecommunications, Wi Fi
Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. Samsung Galaxy F36 5G Launched in India With AI Features: All Details
  1. Hubble Uncovers Multi-Age Stars in Ancient Cluster, Reshaping Galaxy Origins
  2. sPHENIX at RHIC Delivers First Results, Sets Stage for Quark–Gluon Plasma Studies
  3. Chandra Spots Distant Baby Planet Losing Its Atmosphere Under Intense X-ray Assault
  4. Meteor Strike May Have Triggered Massive Grand Canyon Landslide 56,000 Years Ago
  5. Ronth OTT Release Date: When and Where to Watch Malayalam Drama Movie Online
  6. Samsung Galaxy F36 5G Launched in India With AI Features, Triple Rear Cameras: Price, Specifications
  7. Samsung Galaxy F36 5G Launching Today: Know Price in India, Features and Specifications
  8. Gemini North Telescope Spots Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Racing Through Solar System
  9. NASA Grounds Boeing Starliner Until 2026 After Test Flight Failures
  10. Quantum Leap: Scientists Achieve Magic State Distillation on Logical Qubits for the First Time
Gadgets 360 is available in
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2025. All rights reserved.