Researchers have developed a new gesture recognition technology using WiFi, a leading US physicist Organization reported yesterday. With a router and a few simple radio devices, we can identify our specific actions.
Using a modified Wi Fi router and several wireless devices in the living room, users can control their electronics and home appliances in any room of the home with a simple gesture, the researchers confirmed. Siyam goldcota, the project's lead researcher and assistant professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Washington, calls it a new way to reuse existing wireless signals. Using wireless signal for gesture recognition can eliminate the need to deploy more sensors.
The research team of the University of Washington named the technology 'wisee', and the research report has been submitted to the 19th International Mobile Computing and networking conference. 'wisee' is conceptually similar to Microsoft's Xbox Kinect, but the technology is simpler, the price is cheaper, and users don't have to control their devices in the same room, because Wi Fi signals can pass through walls without being constrained by vision or sound barriers.
The research team converted a standard Wi Fi router into a 'smart' receiving device that basically listens for wireless signals from all the electronic devices in the room, such as smartphones, laptops and tablets.
When a person is moving, it will cause a slight change in the frequency of the wireless signal. The movement of hands or feet will cause the receiving device to detect the Doppler shift change. Compared with the bandwidth of 20 megabits and the operating frequency of 5 gigahertz of Wi Fi signal, these frequency variations are very small, usually only a few hertz. The researchers developed an algorithm to detect these subtle changes.
At present, the technology can recognize nine different body gestures, such as push, pull, stab and throw. The researchers tested five users in a two bedroom apartment and an office. Out of a total of 900 gestures performed, the recognition accuracy of wisee reached 94%.
The system requires a multi antenna receiver. That is to say, each antenna is tuned to the action of a specific user, so that up to five people can operate hand gestures at the same time in the same residence without confusion.
If the user wants to use wisee, he must perform a specific sequence of repeated gestures to gain access to the receiver. This password concept will keep the system safe and prevent neighbors or hackers from controlling the devices in the user's home. After the wireless receiver is locked with the user, the user can interact with the electronic device at home. The receiver is programmed to understand the specific gestures corresponding to each electronic device.