Sensor Fusion for Public Space Utilization Monitoring in a Smart City

TL;DR

This paper presents a sensor fusion approach using PIR and sound sensors on a Renewable Wireless Sensor Network to monitor public space utilization in smart cities, addressing challenges like accuracy and privacy.

Contribution

It introduces a calibration process for PIR sensors, processing methods for sound sensors, and a sensor fusion technique for effective public space monitoring.

Findings

Effective PIR calibration reduces false alarms.

Sound sensor processing provides valuable insights.

Sensor fusion reveals detailed space utilization patterns.

Abstract

Public space utilization is crucial for urban developers to understand how efficient a place is being occupied in order to improve existing or future infrastructures. In a smart cities approach, implementing public space monitoring with Internet-of-Things (IoT) sensors appear to be a viable solution. However, choice of sensors often is a challenging problem and often linked with scalability, coverage, energy consumption, accuracy, and privacy. To get the most from low cost sensor with aforementioned design in mind, we proposed data processing modules for capturing public space utilization with Renewable Wireless Sensor Network (RWSN) platform using pyroelectric infrared (PIR) and analog sound sensor. We first proposed a calibration process to remove false alarm of PIR sensor due to the impact of weather and environment. We then demonstrate how the sounds sensor can be processed to provide various insight of a public space. Lastly, we fused both sensors and study a particular public space utilization based on one month data to unveil its usage.