Reliable device-free user localization using multichannel radio transceivers

The device-free localization of people and objects in indoor environments is a key technology for ambient assisted living scenarios. For the detection of users no mobile hardware need to be worn. The technology keeps the privacy of the user and thus, it gains a high user acceptance. Looking at performance metrics like detection and false alarm rates, a solution relying on a single-channel signal strength sensor is not sufficient. With a multichannel transceiver and up to eight redundant signal strength values for each pair of reference nodes, the probability of user detection can be increased significantly. Experiment results for the localization of a user in a single-room apartment are used to validate the advantageous performance of the multichannel approach.