arXiv subjects

Neal Patwari

Publications and source records attributed to Neal Patwari.

36 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2015

Through-Wall Person Localization Using Transceivers in Motion

We develop novel methods for device-free localization (DFL) using transceivers in motion. Such localization technologies are useful in various cross-layer applications/protocols including those that are related to security situations where it is important to know the presence and position of an unauthorized person; in monitoring the daily activities of elderly or special needs individuals; or in emergency situations when police or firefighters can use the locations of people inside of a building in order to save lives. We propose that transceivers mounted on autonomous vehicles could be both quickly deployed and kept moving to ``sweep'' an area for changes in the channel that would indicate the location of moving people and objects. The challenge is that changes to channel measurements are introduced both by changes in the environment and from motion of the transceivers. In this paper, we demonstrate a method to detect human movement despite transceiver motion using ultra-wideband impulse radar (UWB-IR) transceivers. The measurements reliably detect a person's presence on a link line despite small-scale fading. We explore via multiple experiments the ability of mobile UWB-IR transceivers, moving outside of the walls of a room, to measure many lines crossing through the room and accurately locate a person inside within 0.25 m average error.

cs.ET↗

arXiv2014

RTI Goes Wild: Radio Tomographic Imaging for Outdoor People Detection and Localization

RF sensor networks are used to localize people indoor without requiring them to wear invasive electronic devices. These wireless mesh networks, formed by low-power radio transceivers, continuously measure the received signal strength (RSS) of the links. Radio Tomographic Imaging (RTI) is a technique that generates 2D images of the change in the electromagnetic field inside the area covered by the radio transceivers to spot the presence and movements of animates (e.g., people, large animals) or large metallic objects (e.g., cars). Here, we present a RTI system for localizing and tracking people outdoors. Differently than in indoor environments where the RSS does not change significantly with time unless people are found in the monitored area, the outdoor RSS signal is time-variant, e.g., due to rainfalls or wind-driven foliage. We present a novel outdoor RTI method that, despite the nonstationary noise introduced in the RSS data by the environment, achieves high localization accuracy and dramatically reduces the energy consumption of the sensing units. Experimental results demonstrate that the system accurately detects and tracks a person in real-time in a large forested area under varying environmental conditions, significantly reducing false positives, localization error and energy consumption compared to state-of-the-art RTI methods.

cs.NI↗

arXiv2014

dRTI: Directional Radio Tomographic Imaging

Radio tomographic imaging (RTI) enables device free localisation of people and objects in many challenging environments and situations. Its basic principle is to detect the changes in the statistics of some radio quality measurements in order to infer the presence of people and objects in the radio path. However, the localisation accuracy of RTI suffers from complicated radio propagation behaviours such as multipath fading and shadowing. In order to improve RTI localisation accuracy, we propose to use inexpensive and energy efficient electronically switched directional (ESD) antennas to improve the quality of radio link behaviour observations, and therefore, the localisation accuracy of RTI. We implement a directional RTI (dRTI) system to understand how directional antennas can be used to improve RTI localisation accuracy. We also study the impact of the choice of antenna directions on the localisation accuracy of dRTI and propose methods to effectively choose informative antenna directions to improve localisation accuracy while reducing overhead. We evaluate the performance of dRTI in diverse indoor environments and show that dRTI significantly outperforms the existing RTI localisation methods based on omni-directional antennas.

cs.OH↗

arXiv2013

Dial It In: Rotating RF Sensors to Enhance Radio Tomography

A radio tomographic imaging (RTI) system uses the received signal strength (RSS) measured by RF sensors in a static wireless network to localize people in the deployment area, without having them to carry or wear an electronic device. This paper addresses the fact that small-scale changes in the position and orientation of the antenna of each RF sensor can dramatically affect imaging and localization performance of an RTI system. However, the best placement for a sensor is unknown at the time of deployment. Improving performance in a deployed RTI system requires the deployer to iteratively "guess-and-retest", i.e., pick a sensor to move and then re-run a calibration experiment to determine if the localization performance had improved or degraded. We present an RTI system of servo-nodes, RF sensors equipped with servo motors which autonomously "dial it in", i.e., change position and orientation to optimize the RSS on links of the network. By doing so, the localization accuracy of the RTI system is quickly improved, without requiring any calibration experiment from the deployer. Experiments conducted in three indoor environments demonstrate that the servo-nodes system reduces localization error on average by 32% compared to a standard RTI system composed of static RF sensors.

cs.NI↗

arXiv2013

Through Wall People Localization Exploiting Radio Windows

We introduce and investigate the ability of an attacker to surreptitiously use an otherwise secure wireless network to detect moving people through walls, in an area in which people expect their location to be private. We call this attack on location privacy of people an "exploiting radio windows" (ERW) attack. We design and implement the ERW attack methodology for through wall people localization that relies on reliably detecting when people cross the link lines by using physical layer measurements between the legitimate transmitters and the attack receivers. We also develop a method to estimate the direction of movement of a person from the sequence of link lines crossed during a short time interval. Additionally, we describe how an attacker may estimate any artificial changes in transmit power (used as a countermeasure), compensate for these power changes using measurements from sufficient number of links, and still detect line crossings. We implement our methodology on WiFi and ZigBee nodes and experimentally evaluate the ERW attack by monitoring people movements through walls in two real-world settings. We find that our methods achieve very high accuracy in detecting line crossings and determining direction of motion.

cs.CR↗

arXiv2013

Catch a Breath: Non-invasive Respiration Rate Monitoring via Wireless Communication

Radio signals are sensitive to changes in the environment, which for example is reflected on the received signal strength (RSS) measurements of low-cost wireless devices. This information has been used effectively in the past years e.g. in device-free localization and tracking. Recent literature has also shown that the fading information of the wireless channel can be exploited to estimate the breathing rate of a person in a non-invasive manner; a research topic we address in this paper. To the best of our knowledge, we demonstrate for the first time that the respiration rate of a person can be accurately estimated using only a single IEEE 802.15.4 compliant TX-RX pair. We exploit channel diversity, low-jitter periodic communication, and oversampling to enhance the breathing estimates, and make use of a decimation filter to decrease the computational requirements of breathing estimation. In addition, we develop a hidden Markov model (HMM) to identify the time instances when breathing estimation is not possible, i.e., during times when other motion than breathing occurs. We experimentally validate the accuracy of the system and the results suggest that the respiration rate can be estimated with a mean error of 0.03 breaths per minute, the lowest breathing rate error reported to date using IEEE 802.15.4 compliant transceivers. We also demonstrate that the breathing of two people can be monitored simultaneously, a result not reported in earlier literature.

cs.NI↗

arXiv2013

Joint Ultra-wideband and Signal Strength-based Through-building Tracking for Tactical Operations

Accurate device free localization (DFL) based on received signal strength (RSS) measurements requires placement of radio transceivers on all sides of the target area. Accuracy degrades dramatically if sensors do not surround the area. However, law enforcement officers sometimes face situations where it is not possible or practical to place sensors on all sides of the target room or building. For example, for an armed subject barricaded in a motel room, police may be able to place sensors in adjacent rooms, but not in front of the room, where the subject would see them. In this paper, we show that using two ultra-wideband (UWB) impulse radios, in addition to multiple RSS sensors, improves the localization accuracy, particularly on the axis where no sensors are placed (which we call the x-axis). We introduce three methods for combining the RSS and UWB data. By using UWB radios together with RSS sensors, it is still possible to localize a person through walls even when the devices are placed only on two sides of the target area. Including the data from the UWB radios can reduce the localization area of uncertainty by more than 60%.

cs.OH↗

arXiv2013

A Multi-Scale Spatial Model for RSS-based Device-Free Localization

RSS-based device-free localization (DFL) monitors changes in the received signal strength (RSS) measured by a network of static wireless nodes to locate people without requiring them to carry or wear any electronic device. Current models assume that the spatial impact area, i.e., the area in which a person affects a link's RSS, has constant size. This paper shows that the spatial impact area varies considerably for each link. Data from extensive experiments are used to derive a multi-scale spatial weight model that is a function of the fade level, i.e., the difference between the predicted and measured RSS, and of the direction of RSS change. In addition, a measurement model is proposed which gives a probability of a person locating inside the derived spatial model for each given RSS measurement. A real-time radio tomographic imaging system is described which uses channel diversity and the presented models. Experiments in an open indoor environment, in a typical one-bedroom apartment and in a through-wall scenario are conducted to determine the accuracy of the system. We demonstrate that the new system is capable of localizing and tracking a person with high accuracy (<0.30 m) in all the environments, without the need to change the model parameters.

cs.NI↗

arXiv2013

Breathfinding: A Wireless Network that Monitors and Locates Breathing in a Home

This paper explores using RSS measurements on many links in a wireless network to estimate the breathing rate of a person, and the location where the breathing is occurring, in a home, while the person is sitting, laying down, standing, or sleeping. The main challenge in breathing rate estimation is that "motion interference", i.e., movements other than a person's breathing, generally cause larger changes in RSS than inhalation and exhalation. We develop a method to estimate breathing rate despite motion interference, and demonstrate its performance during multiple short (3-7 minute) tests and during a longer 66 minute test. Further, for the same experiments, we show the location of the breathing person can be estimated, to within about 2 m average error in a 56 square meter apartment. Being able to locate a breathing person who is not otherwise moving, without calibration, is important for applications in search and rescue, health care, and security.

cs.HC↗

arXiv2013

Multiple Target Tracking with RF Sensor Networks

RF sensor networks are wireless networks that can localize and track people (or targets) without needing them to carry or wear any electronic device. They use the change in the received signal strength (RSS) of the links due to the movements of people to infer their locations. In this paper, we consider real-time multiple target tracking with RF sensor networks. We perform radio tomographic imaging (RTI), which generates images of the change in the propagation field, as if they were frames of a video. Our RTI method uses RSS measurements on multiple frequency channels on each link, combining them with a fade level-based weighted average. We describe methods to adapt machine vision methods to the peculiarities of RTI to enable real time multiple target tracking. Several tests are performed in an open environment, a one-bedroom apartment, and a cluttered office environment. The results demonstrate that the system is capable of accurately tracking in real-time up to 4 targets in cluttered indoor environments, even when their trajectories intersect multiple times, without mis-estimating the number of targets found in the monitored area. The highest average tracking error measured in the tests is 0.45 m with two targets, 0.46 m with three targets, and 0.55 m with four targets.

cs.NI↗

arXiv2012

Hidden Markov Estimation of Bistatic Range From Cluttered Ultra-wideband Impulse Responses

Ultra-wideband (UWB) multistatic radar can be used for target detection and tracking in buildings and rooms. Target detection and tracking relies on accurate knowledge of the bistatic delay. Noise, measurement error, and the problem of dense, overlapping multipath signals in the measured UWB channel impulse response (CIR) all contribute to make bistatic delay estimation challenging. It is often assumed that a calibration CIR, that is, a measurement from when no person is present, is easily subtracted from a newly captured CIR. We show this is often not the case. We propose modeling the difference between a current set of CIRs and a set of calibration CIRs as a hidden Markov model (HMM). Multiple experimental deployments are performed to collect CIR data and test the performance of this model and compare its performance to existing methods. Our experimental results show an RMSE of 2.85 ns and 2.76 ns for our HMM-based approach, compared to a thresholding method which, if the ideal threshold is known a priori, achieves 3.28 ns and 4.58 ns. By using the Baum-Welch algorithm, the HMM-based estimator is shown to be very robust to initial parameter settings. Localization performance is also improved using the HMM-based bistatic delay estimates.

cs.OH↗

arXiv2011

Robust Estimators for Variance-Based Device-Free Localization and Tracking

Human motion in the vicinity of a wireless link causes variations in the link received signal strength (RSS). Device-free localization (DFL) systems, such as variance-based radio tomographic imaging (VRTI), use these RSS variations in a static wireless network to detect, locate and track people in the area of the network, even through walls. However, intrinsic motion, such as branches moving in the wind and rotating or vibrating machinery, also causes RSS variations which degrade the performance of a DFL system. In this paper, we propose and evaluate two estimators to reduce the impact of the variations caused by intrinsic motion. One estimator uses subspace decomposition, and the other estimator uses a least squares formulation. Experimental results show that both estimators reduce localization root mean squared error by about 40% compared to VRTI. In addition, the Kalman filter tracking results from both estimators have 97% of errors less than 1.3 m, more than 60% improvement compared to tracking results from VRTI.

cs.NI↗

arXiv2011

Monitoring Breathing via Signal Strength in Wireless Networks

This paper shows experimentally that standard wireless networks which measure received signal strength (RSS) can be used to reliably detect human breathing and estimate the breathing rate, an application we call "BreathTaking". We show that although an individual link cannot reliably detect breathing, the collective spectral content of a network of devices reliably indicates the presence and rate of breathing. We present a maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) of breathing rate, amplitude, and phase, which uses the RSS data from many links simultaneously. We show experimental results which demonstrate that reliable detection and frequency estimation is possible with 30 seconds of data, within 0.3 breaths per minute (bpm) RMS error. Use of directional antennas is shown to improve robustness to motion near the network.

cs.NI↗

arXiv2011

Experimental Performance Evaluation of Location Distinction for MIMO Channels

Location distinction is defined as determining whether or not the position of a device has changed. We introduce methods and metrics for performing location distinction in multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless networks. Using MIMO channel measurements from two different testbeds, we evaluate the performance of temporal signature-based location distinction with varying system parameters, and show that it can be applied to MIMO channels with favorable results. In particular, a 2x2 MIMO channel with a bandwidth of 80 MHz allows a 64-fold reduction in miss rate over the SISO channel for a fixed false alarm rate, achieving as small as 4 x 10^-4 probability of false alarm for a 2.4 x 10^-4 probability of missed detection. The very high reliability of MIMO location distinction enables location distinction systems to detect the change in position of a transmitter even when using a single receiver.

cs.NI↗

arXiv2010

Channel Sounding for the Masses: Low Complexity GNU 802.11b Channel Impulse Response Estimation

New techniques in cross-layer wireless networks are building demand for ubiquitous channel sounding, that is, the capability to measure channel impulse response (CIR) with any standard wireless network and node. Towards that goal, we present a software-defined IEEE 802.11b receiver and CIR estimation system with little additional computational complexity compared to 802.11b reception alone. The system implementation, using the universal software radio peripheral (USRP) and GNU Radio, is described and compared to previous work. By overcoming computational limitations and performing direct-sequence spread-spectrum (DS-SS) matched filtering on the USRP, we enable high-quality yet inexpensive CIR estimation. We validate the channel sounder and present a drive test campaign which measures hundreds of channels between WiFi access points and an in-vehicle receiver in urban and suburban areas.

cs.OH↗

arXiv2009

People-Sensing Spatial Characteristics of RF Sensor Networks

An "RF sensor" network can monitor RSS values on links in the network and perform device-free localization, i.e., locating a person or object moving in the area in which the network is deployed. This paper provides a statistical model for the RSS variance as a function of the person's position w.r.t. the transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX). We show that the ensemble mean of the RSS variance has an approximately linear relationship with the expected total affected power (ETAP). We then use analysis to derive approximate expressions for the ETAP as a function of the person's position, for both scattering and reflection. Counterintuitively, we show that reflection, not scattering, causes the RSS variance contours to be shaped like Cassini ovals. Experimental tests reported here and in past literature are shown to validate the analysis.

cs.NI↗

arXiv2009

Through-Wall Tracking Using Variance-Based Radio Tomography Networks

This paper presents a new method for imaging, localizing, and tracking motion behind walls in real-time. The method takes advantage of the motion-induced variance of received signal strength measurements made in a wireless peer-to-peer network. Using a multipath channel model, we show that the signal strength on a wireless link is largely dependent on the power contained in multipath components that travel through space containing moving objects. A statistical model relating variance to spatial locations of movement is presented and used as a framework for the estimation of a motion image. From the motion image, the Kalman filter is applied to recursively track the coordinates of a moving target. Experimental results for a 34-node through-wall imaging and tracking system over a 780 square foot area are presented.

cs.OH↗

arXiv2008

Correlated Link Shadow Fading in Multi-hop Wireless Networks

Accurate representation of the physical layer is required for analysis and simulation of multi-hop networking in sensor, ad hoc, and mesh networks. This paper investigates, models, and analyzes the correlations that exist in shadow fading between links in multi-hop networks. Radio links that are geographically proximate often experience similar environmental shadowing effects and thus have correlated fading. We describe a measurement procedure and campaign to measure a large number of multi-hop networks in an ensemble of environments. The measurements show statistically significant correlations among shadowing experienced on different links in the network, with correlation coefficients up to 0.33. We propose a statistical model for the shadowing correlation between link pairs which shows strong agreement with the measurements, and we compare the new model with an existing shadowing correlation model of Gudmundson (1991). Finally, we analyze multi-hop paths in three and four node networks using both correlated and independent shadowing models and show that independent shadowing models can underestimate the probability of route failure by a factor of two or greater.

stat.AP↗