Sensing the Physical World Using Pervasive Wireless Infrastructure

Seminar Date(s)
Seminar Location
Jacobs Hall, Room 2512, Jacobs School of Engineering, 9500 Gilman Dr, La Jolla, San Diego, California 92093
Seminar Speaker
Elahe Soltanaghaei
Department of Computer Science
University of Virginia
Elahe Soltanaghaei
Abstract

The promise of IoT has been a future where connected devices work together to automate the world. That means a home that monitors your activities and health status, learns your habits and preferences, and automatically controls lighting, air conditioning, and more. One of the pillars of success for IoT is an efficient and robust mechanism for sensing people and the physical world around them. Recent advances in wireless technologies present new promising possibilities to extend the use of this communication vehicle to a pervasive sensing infrastructure. In effect, this network of wireless devices creates an ocean of radio waves that interact with each other and the environment in complex ways. My research leverages this phenomenon by mapping each wireless reflection to relevant physical and behavioral measurements, thus converting every commodity WiFi device into an individual sensor. This talk will focus on two projects that leverage wireless signal propagation (1) to extend indoor localization to any wireless devices by providing "unaided localization", and (2) to track battery-free objects by profiling the wireless reflections. I will conclude this talk with a glimpse of my ongoing project on embracing the sensing capability of wireless signals to enable safe and efficient autonomous driving, followed by my future research directions that target a stronger convergence of sensing and networking in tomorrow's IoT and Cyber-Physical Systems.

Seminar Speaker Bio
Elahe Soltanaghaei is a Ph.D. candidate in Computer Science at the University of Virginia. Her work spans the areas of wireless sensing and networking with applications in IoT and Cyber-Physical Systems. Reflecting the multi-disciplinary nature of her research, her results have been published in premier venues and journals in the areas of mobile computing, wireless networks, cyber-physical systems, and energy and infrastructure. Her work has been distinguished at 2017 ACM Student Research Competition and 2017 Three-Minute Theses (3MT) competition at UVa. She is also the recipient of N2-Women Young Researcher Fellowship in MobiCom'16 and the best presentation award in BuildSys'16. More information about Elahe and her work can be found on her website: http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~es3ce/
Seminar Contact
Wyn Hughes <whughes@eng.ucsd.edu>