System and method for transmitting csi frames

By using two radio chains in the wi-fi sensing system, CSI frames are generated using the first wireless communication network and transmitted through the second wireless communication network, the problems of interference and high cost of CSI frame transmission in traditional systems are solved, and low-cost and effective environmental characterization and pattern recognition are realized.

CN119866617APending Publication Date: 2025-04-22ASSA ABLOY AB
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN202380065330.6
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Applications(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Priority Date
2022-08-12
Filing Date
2023-08-09
Publication Date
2025-04-22

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Traditional wi-fi sensing systems lack effective and low-cost techniques for collecting characterization information, resulting in the transmission of CSI frames that may cause interference, and the use of wired connections brings problems of wiring costs, complexity, and space constraints.

Method used

A wi-fi sensing system is designed to use a receiving device of two radio links to receive messages from the first wireless communication network and generate CSI frames, and then send CSI frames to the host device using a second wireless communication network, avoiding interference to CSI measurements and reducing cost and complexity.

Benefits of technology

It realizes the low cost and efficient collection and transmission of CSI frames without interfering with CSI measurements, thereby supporting environmental characterization and pattern recognition applications, and improving the scalability of the system.

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Abstract

Described herein are wi-fi sensing systems and techniques using a receiving device having two radio chains. A receiving device may receive messages from a transmitter in a first wireless communication network using a first radio chain, and may generate environmental characterization information based on the received messages. The receiving device may utilize the second radio chain to transmit the environmental characterization information to the host device using the second wireless communication network.
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Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 371,300, filed on August 12, 2022, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure generally relates to Wi-Fi sensing for environment characterization and communication techniques for environment characterization information. Background Art

[0004] Wi-Fi sensing refers to the use of Wi-Fi signals transmitted between two devices such as a transmitter and a receiver to characterize the environment in which the communication device resides. Objects in the environment, such as humans, trees, pets, etc., can cause reflections and distortions of electromagnetic Wi-Fi signals. For example, humans in a room may affect the propagation path of Wi-Fi signals. The impact of objects on the environment can be characterized based on the properties of the received Wi-Fi signals to detect possible patterns in the properties. These patterns can be used for different applications. However, traditional Wi-Fi sensing systems do not include effective and low-cost technologies for collecting characterization information. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present disclosure describes an apparatus for Wi-Fi sensing. The apparatus includes: a first radio chain for receiving a message from a transmitter associated with a first wireless communication network, wherein the apparatus is configured to generate a channel state information (CSI) frame based on the received message; and a second radio chain for sending the CSI frame to a host device using a second wireless communication network.

[0006] The present disclosure also describes a method for Wi-Fi sensing. The method includes: receiving a message from a transmitter associated with a first wireless communication network; generating a CSI frame based on the received message; and sending the CSI frame to a host device using a second wireless communication network.

[0007] The present disclosure further describes a Wi-Fi sensing system. The system includes a transmitter for sending a message, a host device, and a receiver for receiving a message from the transmitter using a first wireless communication network, generating a CSI frame based on the received message, and sending the CSI frame to the host device using a second wireless communication network. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] The various figures in the drawings depict only example embodiments of the present disclosure and should not be considered to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0009] Figure 1 An example portion of a wi-fi sensing system is shown.

[0010] Figure 2 An example portion of a receiver / sniffer device is shown.

[0011] Figure 3 An example portion of an integrated receiver / sniffer device is shown.

[0012] Figure 4 The network topology of the Wi-Fi sensing system is shown.

[0013] Figure 5 A flow chart of a method for sending a CSI frame is shown.

[0014] Figure 6 A flow chart showing a method for updating a configuration of a device is shown.

[0015] Figure 7 A flow chart showing a method for updating a configuration of a device is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] A Wi-Fi sensing system and technique using a receiving device with two radio chains is described herein. The receiving device can utilize a first radio chain to receive messages from a transmitter in a first wireless communication network and can generate environment characterization information based on these received messages. The receiving device can utilize a second radio chain to send the environment characterization information to a host device using a second wireless communication network.

[0017] Figure 1 An example portion of a Wi-Fi sensing system 100 is shown. Figure 1 In the embodiment, for illustration purposes only, the Wi-Fi sensing system 100 is shown as being deployed in a cafeteria, and as described in further detail below, the Wi-Fi sensing system 100 may be deployed in other environments. Other example environments may include a conference room, a hospital, an airport, a classroom, or any other suitable environment.

[0018] The Wi-Fi sensing system 100 may include a transmitter 102, a plurality of receivers 104.1 to 104.n, and a plurality of sniffers 106.1 to 106.m. The transmitter 102 may send messages that may be used by the plurality of receivers 104.1 to 104.n and sniffers 106.1 to 106.m to characterize the environment in which the Wi-Fi sensing system 100 is deployed, which in this example is a cafeteria. The messages may be sent on one or more channels of a Wi-Fi wireless communication network (e.g., as defined by the IEEE 802.11 standard). For example, the transmitter 102 may send the messages on a designated channel in the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, or 6 GHz frequency bands. Other communication protocols may also be used. The content of the message may be fixed, such as an unchanging word (e.g., hello) or number, or may be variable, which may be changed by the transmitter 102.

[0019] The plurality of receivers 104.1 to 104.n may be paired with or connected to the transmitter 102 based on an appropriate communication protocol, and thus the transmitter 102 may have stored information about the plurality of receivers 10.4.1 to 104.n. For example, the transmitter 102 may expose its service set identifier (SSID) to the plurality of receivers 104.1 to 104.n, and the plurality of receivers 104.1 to 104.n may connect to the transmitter using the SSID. After the receiver is connected to the transmitter 102, the information of the receiver (such as a MAC address) may be stored in the transmitter 102.

[0020] The plurality of receivers 104.1 to 104.n may receive the message sent by the transmitter 102 and may generate a channel state information (CSI) frame based on the received message. For example, the CSI frame generated by a receiver (e.g., receiver 104.2) among the plurality of receivers 104.1 to 104.n may include amplitude and phase information of a specific subcarrier used to send the message to the corresponding receiver. As described in further detail below, the CSI may be used to characterize the environment of the Wi-Fi sensing system 100.

[0021] The antenna associated with the transmitter 102 may include a specified number of subcarriers, for example, thirty subcarriers. As mentioned above, a plurality of receivers 104.1 through 104.n may be paired with or connected to the transmitter 102, and thus the transmitter 102 may send messages directed to the respective receivers. For example, the transmitter 102 may direct the message to any respective receiver (e.g., receiver 104.1) among the plurality of receivers 104.1 through 104.n.

[0022] As described in further detail below, multiple sniffers 106.1 to 106.m may be provided using the same or similar hardware architecture as the multiple receivers 104.1 to 104.m. Unlike the multiple receivers 104.1 to 104.n, the multiple sniffers 106.1 to 106.m may not be paired with or connected to the transmitter 102 based on an appropriate communication protocol. The transmitter 102 may not store information about the multiple sniffers 106.1 to 106.m. That is, the transmitter 102 may not be able to direct messages to the multiple sniffers 106.1 to 106.m. In addition, while the number of receivers (n) may be set based on restrictions on how many devices can be connected to the transmitter 102 at the same time, the number of sniffers (m) is not subject to these same restrictions. Therefore, in some examples, the number of sniffers (m) may be greater than the number of receivers (n).

[0023] The plurality of sniffers 106.1 to 106.m can scan or "sniff" a designated spectrum and intercept or receive messages sent in the spectrum by the transmitter 102. Based on these "sniffed" messages, the plurality of sniffers 106.1 to 106.m can generate CSI frames, and the CSI frames can include amplitude and phase information for each subcarrier.

[0024] The CSI frames generated by the multiple receivers 104.1 to 104.m and the multiple sniffers 106.1 to 106.m can then be collected and used to characterize the relevant environment. For example, the CSI frames can be used to detect changes in the environment using pattern recognition techniques for various applications such as counting people, detecting movement, postures and gestures, etc. Since wi-fi sensing uses electromagnetic (EM) waves, the information extracted from changes in patterns is more robust than other detection techniques such as cameras. While cameras capture information directly within the line of sight of their camera sensors, wi-fi sensing can detect the size and movement of devices (transmitters and receiving devices) outside of the line of sight. This is because EM waves can be reflected from objects outside the line of sight between the two devices, and then these reflected EM waves can be received by the receiving device. Changes in objects outside the line of sight can therefore affect the CSI.

[0025] However, as mentioned above, conventional techniques for collecting CSI frames to perform data analysis for pattern recognition may be lacking. For example, if multiple receivers 104.1 to 104.n and sniffers 106.1 to 106.m use the same wireless communication network for measuring CSI to send CSI frames back to the transmitter 102, these transmissions may cause interference that may affect the CSI measurement. Therefore, the transmission of CSI frames may interfere with the CSI measurement. Using wired connections for multiple receivers 104.1 to 104.n and sniffers 106.1 to 106.m also brings disadvantages including wiring costs, complexity, and space limitations.

[0026] Thus, as described herein, examples of receiver / sniffer devices are described that can send CSI frames using a wireless communication network that is different from the wireless communication network used to generate CSI frames in a low-cost and efficient manner, thereby not causing interference with CSI measurements. Figure 2 An example portion of a receiver / sniffer device 200 is shown. The receiver / sniffer device 200 may be used as a receiver or sniffer in a Wi-Fi sensing system described herein (eg, Wi-Fi sensing system 100).

[0027] The receiver / sniffer device 200 may include a wi-fi sensing module 202 and a buddy module 204 coupled via a bus 206. The wi-fi sensing module 202 may include an antenna 202.1, a radio chain 202.2, a controller 202.3, a clock 202.4, a memory 202.5, and a bus interface 202.6. In some examples, the wi-fi sensing module 202 may be provided as an integrated circuit, such as a system-on-chip (SoC) device that may be low-cost and may have a small form factor. The antenna 202.1 may be tuned to receive messages in a specified bandwidth (e.g., 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, or 6 GHz). The radio chain 202.2 may include radio frequency (RF) components such as RF baluns, amplifiers, downconverters, etc. to receive messages in the RF spectrum and convert the received messages into baseband signals for CSI measurement. The controller 202.3 may be provided as a microprocessor having a single core or multiple cores. As described in further detail below, the controller 202.3 may generate a CSI frame based on the received message. The clock 202.4 may include an oscillator and may generate a clock signal of a specified frequency for use by other components in the Wi-Fi sensing module 202. The memory 202.5 may include a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a static random access memory (SRAM), a flash memory, and / or other suitable memory components. As described in further detail below, the memory 202.5 may store CSI frames, configuration information such as firmware, and other programs used by the Wi-Fi sensing module 202.

[0028] As described above, the wi-fi sensing module 202 may be configured to receive a message from the first wireless communication network (e.g., from the transmitter 102), and may generate a CSI frame based on the message received from the first wireless communication network. The wi-fi sensing module 202 may send the CSI frame to the partner module 204 via the bus 206. The bus interface 202.6 may be provided as a low-level bus interface, such as a serial peripheral interface (SPI), an inter-integrated circuit (I2C), a universal asynchronous receiver / transmitter (UART), a controller area network (CAN), etc.

[0029] Partner module 204 may include antenna 204.1, radio chain 204.2, controller 204.3, clock 204.4, memory 204.5 and bus interface 204.6. In some examples, partner module 204 may be provided as an integrated circuit, such as a low-cost and small form factor SoC device. Antenna 204.1 may be tuned to send and receive messages in a specified bandwidth. Radio chain 204.2 may include RF components such as RF balun, amplifier, upconverter, downconverter, etc. to send and receive RF signals. Controller 204.3 may be provided as a microprocessor with a single core or multiple cores. As described in further detail below, controller 204.3 may process (e.g., filter, compress) received CSI frames and may add metadata to CSI frames to be sent. Clock 204.4 may include an oscillator and may generate a clock signal of a specified frequency for use by other components in partner module 204. Memory 204.5 may include ROM, RAM, SRAM, flash memory and / or other suitable memory components. The bus interface 202 . 6 may be provided as a low-level bus interface, SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, etc., to communicate with the wi-fi sensing module 202 through the bus 206 .

[0030] The partner module 204 may receive the CSI frame from the wi-fi sensing module 202 via the bus 206, and may send the CSI frame to a host device or router via its antenna 204.1 and radio chain 204.2 using a second wireless communication network different from the first wireless communication network used by the wi-fi sensing module 202 to generate the CSI frame. The second wireless communication network used by the partner module 202 may be provided as another wi-fi network, a Bluetooth network, a Zigbee network, or other wireless network using any other suitable wireless network protocol.

[0031] The channels used by the second wireless communication network may be set so that these channels are far enough from the channels used in the first wireless communication network to not significantly interfere with the CSI measurement in the first wireless communication network. In some examples, if the second wireless communication network is provided as another wi-fi network, the channels used by the second wireless communication network may be set to channels that are at least ten channels away from the channels used by the first wireless communication network. For example, if the first wireless communication network is using channel 1 for CSI measurement, the second wireless communication network may be set to channel 11 or higher.

[0032] Although Figure 2 The receiver / sniffer device 200 includes separate, discrete Wi-Fi sensing modules 202 and partner modules 204, but in other examples, these modules may be integrated together. Figure 3An example portion of an integrated receiver / sniffer device 300 is shown. The integrated receiver / sniffer device 300 may be used as a receiver or a sniffer in the wi-fi sensing systems described herein.

[0033] The integrated receiver / sniffer device 300 may include a first antenna 302, a first radio chain 304, a controller 306, a clock 308, a memory 310, a second antenna 312, and a second radio chain 314. In some examples, the integrated receiver / sniffer device 300 may be provided as an integrated circuit, such as a low-cost and small form factor SoC device. The first antenna 302 may be tuned to receive messages in a specified bandwidth associated with a first wireless communication network for CSI frame generation. The first radio chain 306 may include RF components such as RF baluns, amplifiers, downconverters, etc. to receive messages in the RF spectrum and convert the received messages into baseband signals for CSI measurement. The controller 306 may be provided as a microprocessor with a single core or multiple cores. The clock 308 may include an oscillator and may generate a clock signal of a specified frequency for use by other components in the integrated receiver / sniffer device 300. The memory 308 may include ROM, RAM, SRAM, flash memory, and / or other suitable memory components.

[0034] The second antenna 312 may be tuned to send and receive messages in a specified bandwidth associated with the second wireless communication network.The second radio chain 204.2 may include RF components such as RF baluns, amplifiers, upconverters, downconverters, etc. to send and receive RF signals.

[0035] The integrated receiver / sniffer device 300 may receive messages sent from a first wireless communication network using a first antenna 302 and a first radio chain 304, and may generate a CSI frame based on these received messages. The integrated receiver / sniffer device 300 may then send the CSI frame using a second wireless communication network via a second antenna 312 and a second radio chain 314.

[0036] Figure 4 The network topology of the Wi-Fi sensing system 400 is shown. The Wi-Fi sensing system 400 may include a transmitter 402, a plurality of receivers 404.1 to 404.n, a plurality of sniffers 406.1 to 406.m, a router 408, and a host device 410. As described above, the transmitter 402 may use a first wireless communication network to send a message, and the first wireless communication network may be used by the plurality of receivers 404.1 to 404.n and the sniffers 406.1 to 406.m for CSI frame generation to characterize the environment in which the Wi-Fi sensing system 400 is deployed. The first wireless communication network may be provided as a Wi-Fi network.

[0037] The receivers 404.1 to 404.n and sniffers 406.1 to 406.m may include a hardware architecture as described herein (e.g., receiver / sniffer 200, integrated receiver / sniffer 300). As described above, the receivers 404.1 to 404.n may be paired with or connected to the transmitter 400, and the sniffers 406.1 to 406.m may scan or sniff the relevant spectrum for messages from the transmitter 400. The receivers 404.1 to 404.n and sniffers 406.1 to 406.m may receive and sniff messages from the transmitter 402, and generate CSI frames based on these messages. The receivers 404.1 to 404.n and sniffers 406.1 to 406.m may then send the CSI frames to the router 408 using the second wireless communication network. As described herein, the second wireless communication network may be provided as another wi-fi network, a Bluetooth network, a Zigbee network, or other wireless network using any other suitable wireless network protocol.

[0038] Router 408 may be coupled to host device 410. In some examples, router 408 and host device 410 may be provided locally. In some examples, router 408 and host device 410 may be integrated together. In other examples, host device 410 may be located at a remote location such as a cloud computing platform, and router 408 and host device may be communicatively coupled together via, for example, the Internet.

[0039] The host device 410 may collect CSI frames received from the receivers 404.1 to 404.n and sniffers 406.1 to 406.m, and may utilize patented recognition techniques such as complex machine learning networks to recognize patterns to characterize the environment of the Wi-Fi sensing system 400. For example, the host device 410 may include one or more processor circuits, such as a computer processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a field programmable gate array (FPGA). The CPU may be provided as one or more multi-core processors. GPUs and FPGAs may be used to accelerate the processing of CSI and the performance of the machine learning network. The machine learning network may be provided as a multi-layer machine learning model, a neural network, or other suitable network.

[0040] Figure 5A flow chart of a method 500 for sending a CSI frame is shown. In some examples, the method 500 may be performed by a receiver or sniffer device (e.g., receiver / sniffer 200, integrated receiver / sniffer 300) as described herein. At operation 502, a message from a transmitter may be received by the receiver / sniffer device using a first wireless communication network (e.g., a Wi-Fi network). At operation 504, a CSI frame may be generated based on the received message. For example, the CSI frame may include amplitude and phase information of a specific subcarrier used to send a corresponding message.

[0041] At operation 506, the CSI frame may be filtered to remove data that does not carry relevant information. At operation 508, the filtered CSI frame may be compressed. For example, a data reduction algorithm may be performed on the receiver / sniffer device (e.g., partner module) to reduce the amount of data in the generated CSI frame to be sent to the host device. The data reduction algorithm may include a compression algorithm, performing dimensionality reduction, fitting the data on a curve, and sending only the parameters of the curve to be used, etc.

[0042] In some examples, Huffman coding can be used to reduce the amount of CSI data sent from the receiver / sniffer device. Since CSI frames typically present linear changes between adjacent channels, Huffman coding compression can be further optimized by considering the increments between each channel value rather than the original channel value. For example, the CSI frame of a channel may follow a pattern of 0, 5, 10, 15, 10, 5, 0, -5, -10... The corresponding series of increments will be 0, +5, +5, +5, -5, -5, -5, -5, -5... Therefore, the associated Huffman coding dictionary will consist only of 0, +5, -5 instead of 0, 5, 10, 15, -5, -10. Therefore, the receiver / sniffer device may not send the actual CSI frame, but may send the Huffman coding of the difference between adjacent channels. This can significantly reduce the amount of data to be sent.

[0043] At operation 510, the compressed CSI frame may be sent to the host device using the second wireless communication network. In addition, metadata may be added to the CSI frame (e.g., by a partner module). The metadata may include timestamp information, receiver / sniffer identification information, and other information.

[0044] As described herein, the second wireless communication network may be provided as another Wi-Fi network, a Bluetooth network, a Zigbee network, or other wireless network using any other suitable wireless network protocol. The host device may collect CSI frames received from multiple receivers and sniffers placed at different locations in the environment to be characterized. The host device may utilize patented recognition techniques such as using a machine learning network to recognize patterns to characterize the environment for various applications such as counting people, detecting movement and gestures, etc.

[0045] In addition to the transmission of CSI frames, the communication techniques described herein may be used for other applications. Configuration and firmware updates on a receiver / sniffer device may be performed using two different wireless communication networks. Figure 6 A flow diagram of a method 600 for updating a configuration of a device is shown. In some examples, the method 600 may be performed by a receiver or sniffer device (eg, receiver / sniffer 200, integrated receiver / sniffer 300) as described herein.

[0046] At operation 602, as described above, the receiver / sniffer device may receive a notification regarding a configuration update of a Wi-Fi sensing component via a second wireless communication network different from the first wireless communication network used for CSI generation. In an example where the partner module and the Wi-Fi sensing module are provided as separate, discrete modules (e.g., the receiver / sniffer 200), the partner module may receive the notification via the second wireless communication network and send information regarding the notification to the Wi-Fi sensing module via a wired bus.

[0047] At operation 604, the receiver / sniffer device may receive a configuration update of the Wi-Fi sensing component via the second wireless communication network. In examples where the partner module and the Wi-Fi sensing module are provided as separate, discrete modules (e.g., the receiver / sniffer 200), the partner module may receive the configuration via the second wireless communication network and send information about the configuration update to the Wi-Fi sensing module via the wired bus.

[0048] In some examples, the configuration update may include a firmware update related to the wi-fi sensing component. In some examples, the configuration update may include communication parameters (e.g., channel, modulation, etc.) used by the first wireless communication network to generate the CSI.

[0049] At operation 606, the receiver / sniffer device may perform a configuration update. At operation 608, the receiver / sniffer device may send a confirmation via the second wireless communication network that the configuration update has been performed. In examples where the partner module and the Wi-Fi sensing module are provided as separate, discrete modules (e.g., the receiver / sniffer 200), the Wi-Fi sensing module may perform the configuration update and may send information about the completion of the configuration update to the partner module via the wired bus. In turn, the partner module may send a confirmation via the second wireless communication network that the configuration update has been performed.

[0050] Other techniques may also be used for configuration updates. Figure 7 A flow diagram of a method 700 for updating a configuration of a device is shown. In some examples, the method 700 may be performed by a receiver or sniffer device (eg, receiver / sniffer 200, integrated receiver / sniffer 300) as described herein.

[0051] At operation 702, as described above, the receiver / sniffer device may receive a notification regarding a configuration update of a Wi-Fi sensing component via a second wireless communication network different from the first wireless communication network used for CSI generation. In an example where the partner module and the Wi-Fi sensing module are provided as separate, discrete modules (e.g., the receiver / sniffer 200), the partner module may receive the notification via the second wireless communication network and send information regarding the notification to the Wi-Fi sensing module via a wired bus.

[0052] At operation 704, the receiver / sniffer device may disconnect a radio chain (e.g., radio chain 202.2, radio chain 304) coupled to the first wireless communication network for CSI generation and connect the radio chain to a router in the second wireless communication network. In examples where the partner module and the Wi-Fi sensing module are provided as separate, discrete modules (e.g., receiver / sniffer 200), the radio chain in the Wi-Fi sensing module may switch from its connection or sniffing configuration of the first wireless communication network and may connect to a router in the second wireless communication network.

[0053] At operation 706, the receiver / sniffer device may receive a configuration update of the Wi-Fi sensing component from the second wireless communication network via a radio chain (e.g., radio chain 202.2, radio chain 304) that was previously connected to the first wireless communication network but not connected to the second wireless communication network. In examples where the partner module and the Wi-Fi sensing module are provided as separate, discrete modules (e.g., receiver / sniffer 200), the radio chain in the Wi-Fi sensing module may receive a configuration update from a router in the second wireless communication network.

[0054] At operation 708, the receiver / sniffer device may perform a configuration update. At operation 710, the receiver / sniffer device may send a confirmation that the configuration update has been performed to the second wireless communication network via a radio chain (e.g., radio chain 202.2, radio chain 304) that was previously connected to the first wireless communication network but is now connected to the second wireless communication network. In examples where the partner module and the Wi-Fi sensing module are provided as separate, discrete modules (e.g., receiver / sniffer 200), the radio chain in the Wi-Fi sensing module may send a confirmation to a router in the second wireless communication network.

[0055] At operation 712, the receiver / sniffer device may reconnect the radio chain (e.g., radio chain 202.2, radio chain 304) previously disconnected at operation 704 to the first wireless communication network for CSI generation but now with the configuration update performed. In examples where the partner module and the wi-fi sensing module are provided as separate, discrete modules (e.g., receiver / sniffer 200), the radio chain in the wi-fi sensing module may switch its connection or sniffing configuration back to the first wireless communication network with the configuration update performed.

[0056] In the examples described above, for simplicity and brevity, the components are described and illustrated as single-input single-output (SISO) devices. Other types of devices such as multiple-input single-output (MISO) and / or multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) devices may be used for the communication techniques described herein.

[0057] The CSI generation and communication techniques described herein can utilize low-cost, small form factor embedded devices. The use of such devices can facilitate scalability, leading to the design and use of large Wi-Fi sensing systems using tens or hundreds of receiving and sniffing devices.

[0058] Various annotations

[0059] Each of the above non-limiting examples may stand on its own or may be combined in various permutations or combinations with one or more of the other aspects or other subject matter described in this document.

[0060] The above detailed description includes reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of the detailed description. The accompanying drawings show specific implementations that can be put into practice of the present invention by way of illustration. These implementations are also generally referred to as "examples". Such examples may include elements other than the elements shown or described. However, the inventors also contemplate examples in which only those elements shown or described are provided. In addition, the inventors also contemplate examples of any combination or permutation of those elements (or one or more aspects of those elements) shown or described with respect to a specific example (or one or more aspects of a specific example) or with respect to other examples (or one or more aspects of other examples) shown or described in this article.

[0061] In the event of an inconsistency in usage between this document and any document incorporated by reference, the usage in this document controls.

[0062] In this document, as is common in patent literature, the terms "a" or "an" are used to include one or more than one, regardless of any other instances or uses of "at least one" or "one or more". In this document, unless otherwise indicated, the term "or" is used to identify a non-exclusive or, such that "A or B" includes "A but not B", "B but not A", and "A and B". In this document, the terms "including" and "in..." are used as the plain English equivalents of the corresponding terms "comprising" and "wherein". In addition, in the following aspects, the terms "including" and "comprising" are open-ended, that is, systems, devices, articles, compositions, formulations, or processes that include elements other than those listed after such terms in an aspect are still considered to fall within the scope of that aspect. In addition, in the following aspects, the terms "first", "second", and "third", etc. are used only as labels and are not intended to impose numerical requirements on their objects.

[0063] The method examples described herein may be at least partially machine or computer-implemented. Some examples may include computer-readable media or machine-readable media that utilize instructions that can be operated to configure an electronic device to perform the method described in the above example. The implementation of such a method may include code, such as microcode, assembly language code, higher-level language code, etc. Such code may include computer-readable instructions for performing various methods. The code may form a part of a computer program product. In addition, in an example, for example, during execution or at other times, the code may be tangibly stored on one or more volatile, non-transient or non-volatile tangible computer-readable media. Examples of these tangible computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to, hard disks, removable disks, removable optical disks (e.g., compact disks and digital video disks), cassettes, memory cards or memory sticks, random access memories (RAM), read-only memories (ROM), etc.

[0064] The above description is intended to be illustrative rather than restrictive. For example, the above examples (or one or more aspects of the examples) may be used in combination with each other. For example, a person of ordinary skill in the art may use other implementations after reading the above description. The summary is provided to enable the reader to quickly determine the nature of the technical disclosure.

Claims

1. A device for Wi-Fi sensing, comprising: a first radio chain for receiving a message from a transmitter associated with a first wireless communication network, wherein the apparatus is for generating a channel state information (CSI) frame based on the received message; and A second radio chain is configured to send the CSI frame to a host device using a second wireless communication network.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The first radio chain is provided in a first module and the second radio chain is provided in a second module, wherein the first module and the second module are connected via a wired bus.

3. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein: The first module includes a first controller for generating the CSI frame, and the second module includes a second controller for adding metadata to the CSI frame.

4. The device according to any one of claims 2 to 3, wherein: The wired bus is a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), an Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C), a Universal Asynchronous Receiver / Transmitter (UART), or a Controller Area Network (CAN).

5. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The first wireless communication network is a Wi-Fi network.

6. The device according to claim 5, wherein: The first wireless communication network is configured to operate on a first channel, wherein the second wireless communication network is a different wi-fi network configured to operate on a second channel, the second channel being at least ten channels apart from the first channel.

7. The device according to any one of claims 5 to 6, wherein: The second wireless communication network is a Zigbee network.

8. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising: A controller is configured to compress the CSI frame.

9. The device according to claim 8, wherein: The controller compresses the CSI frame using Huffman coding of adjacent channel differences.

10. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein: The second radio chain is configured to receive a notification regarding a configuration update related to the first radio chain.

11. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, the first radio chain being configured to disconnect from the first wireless communication network and connect to the second wireless communication network to receive a configuration update.

12. A method for Wi-Fi sensing, the method comprising: receiving a message from a transmitter associated with a first wireless communication network; generating a channel state information (CSI) frame based on the received message; as well as The CSI frame is sent to a host device using a second wireless communication network.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein: Receiving the message and generating the CSI frame in the first module, the method further includes: The CSI frame is sent from the first module to a second module via a wired bus, wherein the CSI frame is sent to the host device using the second module.

14. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 13, further comprising: Metadata is added to the CSI frame.

15. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein: The first wireless communication network is a Wi-Fi network operating on a first channel, and the second wireless communication network is a different Wi-Fi network operating on a second channel, the second channel being at least ten channels apart from the first channel.

16. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 15, further comprising: The CSI frame is compressed.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein: The compression is performed using Huffman coding of adjacent channel differences.

18. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 17, further comprising: A notification is received via the second wireless communication network regarding a configuration update related to a component for communicating with the first wireless communication network.

19. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 18, further comprising: disconnecting a radio link for receiving messages from said first wireless communication network; connecting the radio chain to the second wireless communication network; receiving a configuration update associated with the first wireless communication network via a radio link connected to the second wireless communication network; The radio chain is reconnected to the first wireless communication network having the configuration update.

20. A Wi-Fi sensing system, comprising: A transmitter for sending messages; Host device; as well as A receiver is configured to receive a message from the transmitter using a first wireless communication network, generate a channel state information (CSI) frame based on the received message, and transmit the CSI frame to the host device using a second wireless communication network.

21. The Wi-Fi sensing system of claim 20, further comprising: A sniffer is configured to scan messages from the transmitter using the first wireless communication network, generate a sniffer CSI frame based on the scanned messages, and send the sniffer CSI frame using the second wireless communication network.