Robots Use WiFi to See Through Walls

Aug-09-14 A team of researchers have created robots able to "look" through walls using only WiFi signals, which could have applications in search and rescue missions and archaeological mapping.

The robots, developed by a team from the University of California, San Diego, work in pairs to determine the layout of a structure. As the robots travel along the structure's perimeter, they send WiFi signals to each other through the walls. These signals can then be analyzed to determine where their strength changed as they moved through a solid object, which allows the team to build a map of the structure that includes solid objects and empty spaces.

Although there are other robots able to "see" through concrete, the UCSD robots are the first to rely solely on WiFi. They do so by incorporating a SLAM algorithm and an array of other tools into their equipment, which allows an accurate image to be generated from the relatively low WiFi signals.

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[GIZMAG.COM]
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