WiSee Project: Seeing Through The Wall With A Simple Wi-Fi Router!
What is WiSee? We've had a question on it at our wiki QA service today and that topic just caught our minds, so we've decided to write a post about it. It is a quite interesting project, created by Washington University specialists. The prototype of WiSee system uses Wi-Fi signals to identify human gestures and actually “see” people even through the obstacles, such as walls and furniture.
Designers claim that it can be easily used at home, to control lights, or other electronics, such as TVs and other stuff. To work with WiSee a person just have to make a special gesture, that WiSee knows and it will interpret it accordingly.
A perfect control center
In theory, such a system can be a perfect control center of a smarthome. Turn the light off on the second floor without going there? It is possible, thanks to WiSee. It can also be used with wireless security systems, as long as it can detect a human body through the obstacles.
WiSee Project
To identify a body or a gesture WiSee simply tracks the signal levels of wireless network. And in the matter of fact it can use not only router, but notebook's wireless adapter, or any other gadget, connected to a Wi-Fi network. The only problem with the device is the fact that Wi-Fi is vulnerable and may be compromised.
As designers say – WiSee actually sees the Doppler Shifts in the wireless networks, cause by movement. As you probably know, your body reflects a portion of 2.4 GHz signals and WiSee sees that. The main idea here is the same as with radio location technology. The prototype was tested and 94% gestures was recognized successfully. The testing was held in a two roomed apartment and WiSee was able to detect movement even through the walls.
Specialists form Washington University claim that WiSee is the first gesture recognition system, that requires any additional equipment such as cameras or receivers. It is able to work with your home wireless network, with a simple Wi-Fi router. Also, as long as it uses any kind of Wi-Fi modules, the WiSee system will surely work with modern smartphones and will let their owners to spy on people. It is obvious that smartphones these days are turning into hacking and spying tools.
Also, WiSee is able to work with 5 people simultaneously, so there will be no inconvenience is using it. To activate the WiSee receiver,you will have to make a special gesture, that has to be known just to you. That will protect the system from an unauthorized use.
But, as any gadget, that system may be used to spy on people. First of all anyone will be able to see their neighbors through the walls and check if they are at home. Also, that device will probably be very popular among thieves, so they will use it to easily check if there is someone at home.
As long as WiSee requires an active Wi-Fi networks to see things around – a simple Wi-Fi signal blocker may be used to blind it. Also, it is still unknown how WiSee will react on other Wi-Fi signal sources? Probably the effect will be simillar with a Wi-Fi jamming device, and that it will see – a 50 feet sized splash!
