An occupancy sensing system with an integration of basic PIR and mmWave sensor modules. Occupancy data was utilized by a lighting system and a mobile application for remote monitoring, which has the potential to improve energy efficiency and space utilization management in workplaces. Compared to using a mmWave sensor alone, bringing in a PIR sensor could greatly improve the sensing accuracy in cases where mmWave sensor may be frequently false triggered due to reflections or non-human objects. The sensing system was tested with different deployments to ensure it can deliver reproducible results across different implementations.
Ceiling mounting is the most suitable installation method because it keeps the sensor unblocked and unobtrusive, while giving a high measuring accuracy. Wall mounting is more suitable for intensive workplaces, but the sensor may be easily blocked or removed by people. Below is an example of a wall-mounted sensor. The sensor's detection range can be configured from 0-9 meters, with a beam angle of 100° × 40°.
A video demo can be found in above file named 'mobile app demo.mp4'.
Based on the sensor system, this app allows user to remotely monitor the workplace occupancy. It supports functions including 'bookmark favorite places', 'view real-time data in graphs', and 'find the sensor location'. All the past data are stored in a cloud database for people who has administration to access on a Grafana dashboard.
Users can switch between grid view and list view, and save their favorite places
Real-time data visualized in graphs, and sensor location guidance
An LED light displayer was built as a simple model to showcase the smart lighting applications. Besides, it can help people intuitively understand how the integrated sensor improves accuracy compared to either sensor alone.
- Download folder 'mobile application/occupancy'.
- Open folder with Android Studio or Visual Studio Code IDE.
- Get packages: From the terminal: Run flutter pub get . From VS Code: Click Get Packages located in right side of the action ribbon at the top of pubspec.yaml indicated by the Download icon. From Android Studio/IntelliJ: Click Pub get in the action ribbon at the top of pubspec.yaml.
- Build the project with Android emulator, ios simulator or physical device connected
All the past data measured by sensor is stored in InfluxDB database, and can be viewed on Grafana dashboards.
