Non-invasive stand-off sensing for detecting, monitoring and localizing humans

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Stand-off or distant sensing is a contactless non-invasive sensing methodology that sense either actively by transmitting waveforms (generally electromagnetic waves) such as a radar or passively (video cameras). It is useful when contact sensing is not feasible such as search and rescue, military and cross-border security applications. It is also an economical way of monitoring multiple patients in emergency departments or elderlies in home care. While majority of the existing research has focused on using single sensor or a combination of multiple sensor of the same type, the proposed Discovery Grant program will consider a suite of hybrid sensors that individually use different sensing strategies to achieve reliable sensing. A hybrid suite consisting of active sensors such as radars transmitting different waveforms, using different geometric configurations or a combination of sensors like radars, video and thermal imaging cameras is expected to significantly enhance the quality of sensed data, provide robust detection, monitoring and localization of human targets in barrier free and behind the barrier environments. However, several challenges related to type of radar sensor, transmitting waveform, sensor configuration and signal processing algorithms need to be dealt with. The proposed program addresses those challenges through theoretical and experimental analyses and provides a hybrid sensing solution along with advanced signal processing algorithms for detecting, locating humans, monitoring their vital signs and classifying various activities including speech in barrier free and behind the barrier scenarios. The long term goals of this program is to develop a robust system using a hybrid suite of active and/or passive sensors for comprehensive detection, location of multiple human being and monitoring of their various activities and physiological states. Such a system will have wide range of monitoring applications from military to health care. The short term goal will develop a hybrid suite of radar sensors that can monitor both behind the barrier and barrier free enviroments while the research emphasis will be on development of advanced signal processing algorithms to detect and locate multiple human beings, monitor and estimate of their vital signs such as breathing and heart rates, extract their vital signal waveforms, identify and classify the human movements and activities as part of robust monitoring. This program will train 6 Master students, 4 PhD Students and 2 Postdocs and 6 undergraduate students. The output of this program will lay the foundation for next generation stand-off monitoring systems for smart homes, provide patentable algorithms and technology, generate quality publications including 2 doctoral and 4 master theses and deliver a practical system that will improve the lives of Canadians and make them safe.