Most people think of Wi-Fi as something that simply connects devices to the internet. But Wi-Fi signals can also be used to sense the world around us.

Wi-Fi is a form of electromagnetic radiation, which means it behaves like other types of light. It can reflect, scatter, diffract, and in some cases partially pass through materials such as drywall, wood, and glass.

Because of this, Wi-Fi signals do not always stop at a wall. Part of the signal can pass through, bounce off objects or people, and return carrying information about what it encountered.

Wi-Fi waves can range from 5-30cm which is a large resolution, however, using Neuralase’s phase-doppler-shift we can not accurately detect human bodies through a wall down to a resolution of approximately 1mm- with up to 84% accuracy.

These reflections change measurable properties of the signal, including phase, amplitude, timing, and Doppler shift. By analysing those changes, it becomes possible to detect movement, presence, and activity behind walls or other obstacles.

This is what makes Wi-Fi sensing so powerful. Unlike cameras, it does not require line of sight, and it can still work in darkness, smoke, or visually blocked environments.

At Neuralase, we are exploring how existing wireless infrastructure could become more than a communications network.