5 ms·
Counting people with WiFi
- weavie 11y agoSeeing as I always switch off my wifi when out of the house, this might not always be that accurate.
- egeozcan 11y ago> This approach does not require people to carry WiFi-enabled telecommunications devices for them to be counted, Mostofi emphasized
- captn3m0 11y agoAny particular reason for using WiFi, instead of relying on better tech (such as ultrasonic, radar etc)? I'm guessing that this is a solved problem in those areas.
- icebraining 11y agoWell, one advantage is that WiFi can be used through walls, as the article points out. There's also the plausible deniability if you're trying to apply this technique without being noticed by someone with detection capabilities - a WiFi hotspot blends in better than most other alternatives.
- detaro 11y agoPotentially no extra hardware needed?
- acd 11y agoA bit similar to WiSee that controlling devices with Wifi using your hands, though not counting people http://wisee.cs.washington.edu/ http://wisee.cs.washington.edu/
- jkot 11y agoIt is pretty impresive field. Some device can detect heart beat behind 10 feet of rocks.
- filleokus 11y agoI wonder if enterprise grade AP/wifi-systems expose signal levels in such a way that is easily implementable. Would be a fun project to try at my university campus, which is crowded with AP's everywhere.
- madaxe_again 11y agoThis has been done before, with Bluetooth - and it really pissed people off. http://www.theguardian.com/news/blog/2008/jul/21/bluetoothblog http://www.theguardian.com/news/blog/2008/jul/21/bluetoothbl... http://www.cityware.org.uk/ http://www.cityware.org.uk/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23665490 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23665490
- abandonliberty 11y agoNot the same thing at all. These are all intrusive and dependent on the user having a device. This article is using wifi as a sort of radar by measuring signal attenuation/interference from meatbags.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- zhte415 11y agoFascinating > 'Our approach can estimate the number of people walking in an area, based on only the received power measurements of a WiFi link,' said Mostofi, a professor of electrical and computer engineering. This approach does not require people to carry WiFi-enabled telecommunications devices for them to be counted, Mostofi emphasized. So completely passive (as long as WiFi is on and seeking a connection).
- chrismcb 11y agoI'm not sure what you mean by passive, but one wifi card needs to send a signal to the other. Seems more active than passive.
- zhte415 11y agoCorrect. A passive action by the user, who often just leaves WiFi on seeking mode when on the move from convenience (walking between home, work, Starbucks, Subway, friend's house, etc). Passive of the user not taking action, I don't mean passive of the device.
- sehugg 11y agoI noticed this effect when I was working with Zigbee mesh networks (which usually operate on 2.4 GHz like wifi). You could clearly see the S/N ratio change between working and non-working hours as people in the office came and went. I always thought it could be used as an occupancy sensor for home or building automation (I'm surprised they aren't doing this already for hotels and other commercial buildings)
- hammock 11y agoSounds like radar... but with wifi.