Exploiting Radio Irregularity in Wireless Networks for Automated People Counting

The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to a large cyber-physical system centered around the Internet that connects not just computer systems but a plethora of systems, devices, and objects, collectively referred to as ”Things”. It encompasses technologies for identification and tracking, sensing and actuation, both wired and wireless communications, and also, intelligence and cognition. Wireless communications, which is an integral part of IoT, suffers from radio irregularity – a phenomenon referring to radio waves being selectively absorbed, reflected or scattered by objects in their paths, e.g., human bodies that comprises liquid, bone and flesh. Radio irregularity is often regarded as a problem in wireless communications but, with the envisioned pervasiveness of IoT, we aim to exploit radio irregularity as a means to detect people. We demonstrate how radio signal fluctuations arising from radio irregularity can be used to provide a low-cost alternative to dedicated sensing systems for indoor automated people counting.