WiFi CSI Sensing Use Cases


Each use case below covers a distinct technical problem — not a restatement of how CSI works. Start with the detection ladder to see which tasks are feasible, then pick the scenario that matches your deployment.

Occupancy and presence

Motion, safety, and automation

Compare alternatives

WiFi CSI vs cameras, radar, PIR, and wearables — technical tradeoffs by sensing mechanism.

Occupancy detection

Binary occupancy from WiFi CSI change-point detection on an empty-room baseline — why it tolerates noise, how it differs from MAC counting, and HVAC control semantics.

Motion & activity detection

Human activity recognition on WiFi CSI — CSI-speed modeling, dual-stream transformers, spectrogram classifiers, and cross-site transfer.

Presence & breathing detection

Micro-Doppler presence sensing from WiFi CSI — respiration band physics, SNR requirements, still-person detection, and why PIR cannot see periodic chest motion.

Elder-care monitoring

Ambient elder-care sensing with WiFi CSI — anomaly-based fall detection, inactivity monitoring, online adaptation, and non-medical boundaries.

Security & intrusion detection

Zone-level intrusion detection with WiFi CSI — NLOS motion through drywall, darkness-invariant sensing, device-free vs MAC tracking, and what you learn vs what you cannot.

Smart-home automation

WiFi presence sensing for home automation — presence-hold vs motion-pulse events, debouncing, hysteresis, and why occupancy beats PIR for HVAC and lighting scenes.

Occupancy analytics

Anonymous occupancy analytics from WiFi CSI — temporal aggregation, utilization metrics, zone heatmaps, GDPR-safe sensing vs MAC tracking, and honest headcount limits.