RFID Sensor Network for Human Presence Sensing

Default ARPA-E Project Image

Program:
SENSOR
Award:
$2,000,000
Location:
Boulder, Colorado
Status:
ALUMNI
Project Term:
05/28/2018 - 02/28/2022
Website:

Technology Description:

The University of Colorado, Boulder (CU-Boulder) will develop an integrated occupancy detection system based on a radio-frequency identification (RFID) sensor network combined with privacy-preserving microphones and low-resolution cameras to detect human presence. The system may also analyze electrical noise on power lines throughout a residential home to infer occupancy in different areas. The system will draw its accuracy from the combination of data sources, uncovering human presence not only from physical image and audio sensor data, but also considering what electrical activity reveals about human activity. All of these data streams (image, audio, and electrical activity) will be combined in computationally efficient ways to enable high accuracy human presence detection. The low powered devices in this system will be wirelessly powered, allowing the system to be deployed in a home without costly and invasive rewiring.

Potential Impact:

If successful, SENSOR projects will dramatically reduce the amount of energy needed to effectively heat, cool, and ventilate buildings without sacrificing occupant comfort.

Security:

Lower electricity consumption by buildings eases strain on the grid, helping to improve resilience and reduce demand during peak hours, when the threat of blackouts is greatest.

Environment:

Using significantly less energy could help reduce emissions attributed to power generation. In addition, improved interior air quality could help prevent negative effects on human health.

Economy:

Buildings will require less energy to operate, reducing heating, cooling, and ventilation costs for businesses and families. In addition, better controlled ventilation may lead to improved indoor air quality (ensured by an accurate occupant count, and validated via widespread CO2 detection) may lead to improved worker productivity and academic performance.

Contact

ARPA-E Program Director:
Dr. Marina Sofos
Project Contact:
Gregor Henze
Press and General Inquiries Email:
ARPA-E-Comms@hq.doe.gov
Project Contact Email:
gregor.henze@colorado.edu

Partners

National Renewable Energy Laboratory
University of Washington
Iowa State University

Related Projects

• Boston University (BU) - Occupancy Sensing for Commercial Venues
• Cornell University - Indoor Occupant Counting Based on RF Backscattering
• Duke University - Dynamic Metasurface Antennas for Detecting Human Presence
• Endeveo - Hotspot Enabled Building Occupancy Sensor
• Iowa State University (ISU) - Simulation, Challenge Testing & Validation of CO2 Technologies
• Matrix Sensors - CO2 Sensor for Demand-controlled Ventilation
• Michigan State University (MSU) - Simulation, Challenge Testing & Validation of Occupancy Recognition & CO2 Technologies Cat A/B
• N5 Sensors - Digital System-on-chip CO2 Sensor
• Purdue University - Microscale Sensors for CO2 Level Monitoring
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) - Reflected Light Field Sensing for Occupancy Detection
• Scanalytics - Floor Sensors for Building Occupancy Counting
• Syracuse University - Multi-modal Sensor Platform for Occupancy Detection
• Texas A&M University - Low-energy PIR Sensor for Occupancy Detection
• Texas A&M University - Quantification of HVAC Energy Savings for Occupancy Sensing in Buildings Through an Innovative Testing Methodology
• United Technologies Research Center (UTRC) - Platform to Estimate Building Occupancy
• University of Alabama - Quantification of HVAC Energy Savings
• University of Colorado, Boulder (CU-Boulder) - RFID Sensor Network for Human Presence Sensing

Release Date:
01/18/2017