What is Wi-Fi Sensing, what can it do, and should you care? Well, the answer to the latter is yes, and the reason is that there is a huge potential market that can impact people’s lives in a positive way AND can help contribute green credentials to everyone participating in this eco-system. Add on to this, the potential business opportunities, and we have a winner!

So, what is it? Wi-Fi Sensing is a technology that enables motion detection, gesture recognition, and biometric measurement by using existing Wi-Fi signals and networks. Wi-Fi Sensing operates similarly to a radar system, detecting motion and providing information and data insights that can be used to enable new Wi-Fi-based services. Wi-Fi Sensing creates a bridge for Wi-Fi service providers to enter new markets such as home security, health care, enterprise, and building automation/management markets, among many others.

In 2019 the Wireless Broadband Alliance set out to address the need for standardizing Wi-Fi Sensing. While some applications could be supported using existing Wi-Fi standards, there were technology gaps that limited the range of new applications. Some of these gaps could be addressed via proprietary means; however, such an approach would have inhibited interoperability, integration, and deployment. Alternatively, there was an opportunity to introduce new capabilities into the Wi-Fi standards. Standards support allows not only more efficient handling of existing use-cases but enables new use-cases that were previously not possible. Download WBA’s 2019 report Wi-Fi Sensing: A New Technology Emerges

Ultimately, the WBA sought to document the obstacles Wi-Fi Sensing currently faced and to collaborate with standards organizations to open up this exciting market. In this blog, we will take a look at the use cases and deployment environments along with some of the business opportunities they open up. 

Wi-Fi Sensing Applications 

  • Home Monitoring

The existing in-home Wi-Fi network is used to gain insight into what is happening in the home when the residents are away. In the simplest case, Wi-Fi Sensing can be used to detect motion in the house. Some Wi-Fi Sensing solutions can also provide a level of localization to ascertain when and where motion has occurred. An example is shown in the following diagram, illustrating where mobile alerts are sent to a homeowner.

The home monitoring use case is an add-on feature for an existing in-home Wi-Fi network and can work in conjunction with the Wi-Fi devices a home user may have connected. The devices in the network are not required to operate any differently, and the impact of enabling this use case on network performance should be minimal.  While this use case is primarily targeted for residential and home deployments, similar use cases can apply to enterprise or commercial deployments.  

  • Energy Management 

There are sensors on the market, such as passive-infrared (PIR) sensors, capable of providing environmental control feedback. However, these sensors require line-of-sight connectivity and dedicated installations. By using Wi-Fi sensing, the same feedback can be produced using existing Wi-Fi networks, eliminating the need to build and maintain multiple systems. For example, a heating and cooling system could automatically adjust after a defined period of no motion throughout an entire building. The energy management use case primarily targets enterprise deployments: however, it can be deployed in a home network, as shown in the next figure:

  • Elder Care 

Elder Care is a use case in which an existing Wi-Fi home network can be used to address concerns related to caring for the ageing population. Many different services in this area are gaining popularity, utilizing technology to allow the ageing population to maintain an independent lifestyle, enabling family members and/or caregivers to be notified when there is a need.  This could include, fall detection; motion tracking, sleeping patterns and waking up in the morning for instance. It is important to ensure these services protect the privacy of the elderly, while also performing autonomously from them. For instance, notifications can be pushed to care providers, as shown below. The elder care use case primarily targets home deployments however, it could also be suitable for deployment in hospitals and elderly care facilities.

  • Remote Operator Troubleshooting

Operator-managed Wi-Fi is gaining market adoption. By fusing Wi-Fi Sensing output (such as localized presence detection), operators can help direct troubleshooting efforts, especially when correlated with other captured key performance indicators (KPIs). So providing more context against coverage expectations can help to troubleshoot/fix the issue more quickly. With multiple APs becoming more common, inter-AP roaming issues could be identified by combining association data with Sensing information. Such data may be obtained as shown in the next figure.

  • Wake-On-Approach / Lock-On-Walk-Away 

Wi-Fi Sensing can be used to monitor and detect proximity of a user to the device. In the wake-on-user approach use case, consumer electronics devices – including computers, smart monitors and TVs – switch from standby and/or power-save mode upon detecting an approaching user. Similarly, in the lock-on-walk-away use case, detection of a user leaving the vicinity of a device triggers power-save mode and/or locking of the device. Alternative approaches rely on use of additional sensors; however, with Wi-Fi Sensing, an existing radio on the device would be used.

  • Gesture Recognition 

In the gesture recognition use case, specific gestures made by the users are used to interact with the device to enhance the user experience. The gestures could be small-scale gestures made by fingers and hands, larger-scale facial gestures or whole-body poses. Wi-Fi Sensing could be used to detect specific gestures without the use of cameras or alternative sensors, reducing cost and increasing privacy. An example of this might be turning lights on or off in the home.

  • Biometric High-Resolution Sensing 

This could be utilized to measure physiological and behavioural data for security and medical applications. Biometric data measurements include heartbeat and respiration rates. This information could be used for monitoring patients in a non-invasive and passive manner. 

Business Opportunities

Wi-Fi Sensing and its motion detection capabilities create many business opportunities, with two major factors to consider. The first is that the smart homes trend is increasing in popularity. Recent market research shows that the average household now features 17.1 (up from 10.4 in 2019) connected IoT devices*, including entertainment devices and voice assistants, with the overarching goal of making everyday life easier through technology.  

The second factor is the available technology. Wi-Fi chipset vendors are beginning to make different radio measurement information available, which is the cornerstone for enabling Wi-Fi Sensing. This information is then processed by intelligent algorithms capable of turning a Wi-Fi network into an advanced sensor. Several opportunities created by these capabilities are highlighted below. 

  1. Security Motion detection and home security are obvious uses for Wi-Fi Sensing, and there are many potential business models that can be explored. Adding Wi-Fi Sensing features to any existing network can be accomplished with only a software or firmware upgrade on the access point, requiring virtually no overhead to deploy.  New companies looking to enter the home security market can build security services around Wi-Fi Sensing or use it to enhance existing systems. An Internet service provider (ISP) now has the ability to add or bundle security services as part of its offerings. Service providers can add new features and services, increasing network value for new and existing customers, while reducing the likelihood of churn for existing customers who are not expert in security/security systems. 
  2. Energy and Resource Management The usage of existing Wi-Fi infrastructure deployments presents another opportunity to optimize building management systems. A building manager or network provider can leverage existing Wi-Fi infrastructure already deployed and use it in conjunction with other IoT devices to become more interactive and optimize energy and resources using only a central platform.
  3. Healthcare For healthcare service providers, Wi-Fi sensing provides wellness monitoring with numerous benefits compared to the use of cameras, including privacy, affordability, ease of installation, and expanded coverage. There exists a large untapped opportunity in the elder care market as ageing generations become increasingly comfortable with technology and a growing interest for elderly citizens to stay in their home. To leverage this trend, many companies are introducing new technology to help people maintain an independent lifestyle as they age. Healthcare service providers are beginning to offer non-invasive health monitoring systems to track subscriber behaviour, detect nonconformities, anticipate expected patterns and even detect serious issues, such as slips and falls.  
  4. Network Service Providers Network owners, service providers and operators benefit from Wi-Fi Sensing by having accurate location information about a user’s proximity to APs or other Wi-Fi devices. This can be helpful for troubleshooting, such as improving network performance or optimizing AP placement. 
  5. Consumer Device & IoT Utilizing new mm-wave Wi-Fi technologies to sense small movements, such as hand gestures or finger movements, will enable many new innovative ways for people to interact with consumer devices. An example of industry trends moving in this direction is the new motion-sensing features available in an increasing number of smartphones. Utilizing existing Wi-Fi hardware and components for such capabilities provides a cost-effective solution, as no additional hardware is required.

So, the next question to this is bound to be: how does it work and what is needed to open up all the new business opportunities?  

This blog is the first in a series that will take us through all of the work that has been completed in the Wireless Broadband Alliance and will also provide insights into new areas such as AI and Machine Learning and much more. In our next blog we will cover an overview of the technology itself – but meanwhile take a peek at the full white paper,  Wi-Fi Sensing: A New Technology Emerges   and Wi-Fi Sensing Deployment Guidelines

The Wi-Fi Sensing Work Group comprises many members of the Wireless Broadband Alliance and includes: Aeriel, Cognitive, CDOT, Comcast, Origin and many more. For a full list please see the attributions in the relevant white papers.