UCSB researchers use a common wireless signal to count the
number of people in a designated space without relying on them to carry
personal devices
(June 9, 2015) Researchers
in UC Santa Barbara professor Yasamin Mostofi’s lab are proving that wireless
signals can do more than provide Internet access. They have demonstrated that a
WiFi signal can be used to count the number of people in a given space, leading
to diverse applications, from energy efficiency to search-and-rescue.
“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.