WiFi location

In three years or so, the Wi-Fi specification is scheduled to get an upgrade that will turn wireless devices into sensors capable of gathering data about the people and objects bathed in their signals. In this WiFi is following the footsteps of Bluetooth that got location features already some years ago.

“When 802.11bf will be finalized and introduced as an IEEE standard in September 2024, Wi-Fi will cease to be a communication-only standard and will legitimately become a full-fledged sensing paradigm,” explains Francesco Restuccia, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Northeastern University, in a paper summarizing the state of the Wi-Fi Sensing project (SENS) currently being developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

For some more information read the following article:

Wi-Fi devices set to become object sensors by 2024 under planned 802.11bf standard
Security and privacy still left to fix, preferably before launch
https://www.theregister.com/2021/03/31/wifi_devices_monitoring/

I have myself written about Bletooth location features:
https://www.epanorama.net/blog/2019/01/30/bluetooth-enhances-support-for-location-services-with-new-direction-finding-feature/
https://www.epanorama.net/blog/2019/05/27/bluetooth-5-1-location-technology-demo/

7 Comments

  1. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Location is coming to 5g services as well:

    Huawei 5G-paikantaa jo 3 metrin tarkkuudella
    https://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12104&via=n&datum=2021-05-05_15:45:02&mottagare=31202

    3GPP Release 16 -standardi lisää operaattoreille mahdollisuuksia hyödyntää verkon tuottamaa paikkatietoa erilaisiin palveluihin. Huawei sanoo jo testanneensa omaa 5G-paikannustaan LampSite-pientukiasemillaan Suzhoun metroasemilla yhdessä China Mobilen kanssa.

    Huawein mukaan verkossa päästiin 3-5 metrin paikannustarkkuuteen 90 prosentissa metroaseman tiloissa. Joka tapauksessa testi oli ensimmäinen maailmassa, jossa 5G-paikannusta testattiin operaattorin live-verkossa.

    5G-verkossa voidaan käyttää samantyyppisiä tekniikoita paikkatiedon selvittämiseen kuin muissakin radioverkoissa. Voidaan laskea signaalin kulkuaikaa tukiasemasta päätelaitteeseen ja takaisin. Sen lisäksi voidaan käyttää signaalin tulokulmaa ja aikaeroa reititinsignaalien välillä.

    3GPP-standardissa (Release 16) vaatimuksiksi on esitetty 3 metriä sisätiloissa ja 10 metriä ulkotiloissa. Huawein demo osoittaa, että sen LampSite-reitittimillä täytetään vaatimukset.

    Reply
  2. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Latest phones are great at thwarting Wi-Fi tracking. Other devices, not so much study https://www.theregister.com/2021/05/18/wifi_tracking_failures/
    “We think this per-connection randomization scheme is a significant step in the right direction and has become the standard across modern mobile devices as of iOS 14 and Android 10,” Ellis Fenske, assistant professor of cyber science at the US Naval Academy told The Register, in a personal rather than institutional capacity.

    Reply
  3. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Wi-Fi 7: The Next Big Leap Or A Whole Lotta Nothing?
    https://hackaday.com/2023/09/11/wi-fi-7-the-next-big-leap-or-a-whole-lotta-nothing/
    For most people, the Wi-Fi hardware of today provides a perfectly satisfactory user experience. However, technology is ever-evolving, and as always, the next advancement is already around the corner. Enter Wi-Fi 7: a new standard that is set to redefine the boundaries of speed, efficiency, and connection reliability.

    Wi-Fi 7 isn’t just another incremental step in the world of wireless tech. It’s promising drastic improvements over its predecessors. But what does it bring to the table? And how does it differ from Wi-Fi 6E, which is still relatively fresh in the market? Read on.

    Reply
  4. Tomi Engdahl says:

    The sound of WiFi signals.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKeSGmp4F4c

    It is a Wireless LAN speaker interference.

    Reply
  5. quordle today says:

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    Reply

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