SiWa: See into Walls via Deep UWB Radar

TL;DR

SiWa is a portable, low-cost system that uses deep learning and UWB radar to non-invasively image wall structures, identify materials, and detect failures, improving building diagnostics.

Contribution

The paper introduces SiWa, a novel system combining customized IR-UWB radar with deep learning to perform in-wall imaging and material analysis without calibration.

Findings

Accurately maps in-wall structures

Identifies materials and detects failures

Operates without calibration or parameter tuning

Abstract

Being able to see into walls is crucial for diagnostics of building health; it enables inspections of wall structure without undermining the structural integrity. However, existing sensing devices do not seem to offer a full capability in mapping the in-wall structure while identifying their status (e.g., seepage and corrosion). In this paper, we design and implement SiWa as a low-cost and portable system for wall inspections. Built upon a customized IR-UWB radar, SiWa scans a wall as a user swipes its probe along the wall surface; it then analyzes the reflected signals to synthesize an image and also to identify the material status. Although conventional schemes exist to handle these problems individually, they require troublesome calibrations that largely prevent them from practical adoptions. To this end, we equip SiWa with a deep learning pipeline to parse the rich sensory data. With an ingenious construction and innovative training, the deep learning modules perform structural imaging and the subsequent analysis on material status, without the need for parameter tuning and calibrations. We build SiWa as a prototype and evaluate its performance via extensive experiments and field studies; results confirm that SiWa accurately maps in-wall structures, identifies their materials, and detects possible failures, suggesting a promising solution for diagnosing building health with lower effort and cost.