An IoT system for smart building combining multiple mmWave FMCW radars applied to people counting

TL;DR

This paper presents a privacy-preserving occupancy monitoring system using multiple mmWave FMCW radars integrated through a flexible software architecture, validated in a real indoor environment with shared data and software modules.

Contribution

It introduces a novel software framework for integrating multiple mmWave FMCW radars to monitor occupancy over large indoor spaces while preserving privacy.

Findings

Effective integration of multiple radars as a single sensor

Successful deployment in a real indoor environment

Shared open-source software and data for community use

Abstract

In contemporary society, the pressing challenge of preserving user privacy clashes with the imperative for smart buildings to efficiently manage their resources, particularly in the context of occupancy monitoring for optimized energy utilization. This paper delves into the application of millimiter wave (mmWave) frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar technology for occupancy monitoring. mmWave FMCW radar, unlike conventional methods that often require the use of identifiable tags or involve image analysis, operates without the need for such identifiers, mitigating privacy concerns. However, challenges arise when attempting to cover extensive indoor spaces due to the limited range of individual mmWave FMCW radar devices. The present work proposes the use of a flexible software architecture to integrate the measurements of several mmWave FMCW radar devices, so that the whole behaves as a single sensor. To validate the proposal, an example of use in a real environment in an indoor space monitored with three mmWave FMCW radar devices is also presented. The example details the whole process, from the physical installation of the devices to the use of the different software modules that allow the integration of the data into a common internet of things (IoT) management platform such as Home Assistant. All the elements, from the measurements captured during the test to the different software implementations, are shared publicly with the scientific community.