Americans have installed and are using wireless routers in about 60% of their homes. The routers produce a wireless signal that can be used by the authorities to monitor human activities and movements inside a residence. The new technology can receive and decipher the results through walls that are one foot thick.
How Does This Technology Work?
Wireless routers send out Wi-Fi radio waves that can bounce off of any moving object. When the frequency changes, the receiver can monitor the signal and track the movement. When a person moves away from the signal, the frequency will diminish and can be seen by the receiver unit.
Diagram of how Wi-Fi signals determine where the subject is located
This diagram is broken down into the following elements:
- As the bad guy moves around the room, the radio waves bounce off of the subject and he can be tracked.
- Wireless router placed near room.
- One antenna of the radar unit tracks the baseline signal.
- A second antenna tracks the waves that are reflected off of the moving subject.
- The screen shows where the suspect is positioned.
The computer inside of the receiving unit calculates where the subject is inside of the room. The subject can be located within a few feet and it will even show the direction the subject is heading.
But that is not the end of the story. There is also another new gadget under development that functions similarly to how bags are screened at airports. A team of researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas are testing out what are called terahertz waves, which exist between microwave and infrared. Packed inside a cellphone-sized gadget, the device can bounce the waves off of an object and process the signals. The device will allow the user to see through objects.
In addition, the team envisions other ways this tool can be used, such as:
- Finding studs in a wall. Anyone who has used a traditional stud finder knows how unreliable they can be.
- Detecting counterfeit money.
- Scanning for cancer tumors.
Both of these new technologies will one day lead to improved devices that will change all of our lives. As of right now, it is good to know that law enforcement will have the technology to keep us all safer in our homes and places of business.
What is your opinion? Do you think technologies such as this are good for all of us, or do you believe it is just another invasion of our privacy? Leave a comment and share your thoughts with us!
Source: POPSCI
Source: Future of Tech
One thing I wonder about is if a burglar can use it to see if a house is empty.
they certainly could if they were there with the right equipment , not something I would want to make the world paranoid about at all, the signal from your router for the most part can only be detected within 40 to 60 foot of the router so if they were there it would not be to spy on personal activity but great for sting operations ..
motion detection is not new either is sonar
We probably should unplug our routers when not using them I guess. I don’t have anything to hide, but I still prefer my privacy.
I do see a problem with that. People keep their router on when their home and it’s hard to find a non wifi house, that [if this gets popular] the house with the weakest wifi isn’t home.
And I totally agree, I haven’t anything to hide, but I rather keep my privacy.
It’s a bit creepy, but also fascinating. If the police can use it, anybody can (in theory)…
You know this technology is going to be abused by our government and law enforcement. Since this technology isn’t covered yet, they can and will use it on an every-day basis to see what’s going on behind closed doors of anyone they deem “suspicious”, which in law enforcements eyes is just about everybody that’s not a cop. Someone will sue, and some dipstick judge will say that it’s perfectly legal, just like using your own cell phone to track your movements through GPS. Just another tool to be used by our police state….
Very Creepy