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

远距离或远距离感测是一种非接触式非侵入式感测方法，其通过发射波形（通常为电磁波）（例如雷达）主动地感测或被动地感测（摄像机）。当接触感测不可行时，例如搜索和救援，军事和跨境安全应用，它是有用的。它也是一种经济的方式来监测多个病人在急诊科或老年人在家庭护理。虽然大多数现有的研究都集中在使用单个传感器或相同类型的多个传感器的组合，但拟议的发现资助计划将考虑一套混合传感器，这些传感器分别使用不同的传感策略来实现可靠的传感。由有源传感器（例如发射不同波形的雷达）组成的混合套件，使用不同的几何配置或传感器（例如雷达、视频和热成像相机）的组合，预计将显著提高感测数据的质量，提供对无障碍环境和障碍环境后面的人类目标的鲁棒检测、监视和定位。然而，需要处理与雷达传感器类型、发射波形、传感器配置和信号处理算法相关的若干挑战。该计划通过理论和实验分析解决了这些挑战，并提供了一种混合传感解决方案，沿着先进的信号处理算法，用于检测，定位人类，监测其生命体征并对各种活动进行分类，包括无障碍和障碍场景后面的语音。该计划的长期目标是开发一个强大的系统，使用主动和/或被动传感器的混合套件进行全面检测，定位多个人并监测他们的各种活动和生理状态。这种系统将具有从军事到医疗保健的广泛监测应用。短期目标将开发一套混合雷达传感器，可以监测障碍物和无障碍环境，而研究重点将是开发先进的信号处理算法，以检测和定位多个人，监测和估计他们的生命体征，如呼吸和心率，提取他们的生命信号波形，作为强有力监测的一部分，查明和分类人员流动和活动。该项目将培养6名硕士生，4名博士生，2名博士后和6名本科生。该项目的成果将为下一代智能家居的远距离监控系统奠定基础，提供可申请专利的算法和技术，产生包括2篇博士论文和4篇硕士论文在内的高质量出版物，并提供一个实用的系统，改善加拿大人的生活，使他们更安全。 **

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. **