Newsmakers

Turns out, WiFi networks can now sense human presence and movement through walls. In 2022, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University developed a method that uses WiFi signals to "see" through walls and accurately detect the position and movement of people inside a room. The research, which focused on leveraging everyday wireless signals, could revolutionise everything from home security and elderly care to search-and-rescue missions. However, it also raises serious privacy concerns. The technology is still in its early stages, and it's unclear how it will be used in the future.

How Does It Work?
The team behind this innovation used existing WiFi routers and modified them with deep learning algorithms to interpret how the signals bounce off human bodies and other objects. Unlike traditional cameras or LiDAR-based motion detectors, which require line-of-sight or expensive hardware, this technique turns any home or office with a WiFi network into a basic motion-sensing system, without the need for any extra sensors or cameras.

The system works by analysing how WiFi signals are distorted as they pass through and around the human body. Using a neural network model, the team converted these signal changes into dynamic 3D silhouettes of people moving behind walls. In their tests, the system could identify multiple individuals, detect their movements, and even recognise postures like sitting or standing with a surprising level of accuracy.

No cameras. No sensors.
Just Wi-Fi reading human movement.

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a system that uses standard WiFi routers to detect human movement through walls—without any cameras.

By applying AI and DensePose model, the system turns WiFi… pic.twitter.com/6xRkI2VbQ7

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) January 5, 2026

Potential Applications And Ethical Concerns
The researchers claim that this technology has potential applications in monitoring the well-being of elderly people or identifying suspicious behaviors at home, all while maintaining a level of privacy since it doesn't rely on cameras.

One of the key advantages of this technology is its cost-effectiveness. WiFi routers are already widely available, and the system requires no special hardware, only software processing. This could make it an accessible tool for low-cost smart homes or healthcare applications, such as monitoring elderly patients without invasive cameras.

However, the development also brings up ethical and privacy issues and the potential misuse of this technology for surveillance purposes. The very idea that someone could potentially track your movements from outside your home using only WiFi signals is scary and concerning.

While the researchers have said that the technology is still in early stages and not meant for covert use, the potential for misuse has not gone unnoticed. The Carnegie Mellon team has acknowledged these concerns and is reportedly working on embedding privacy-protecting features in future iterations of the system. Their goal is to ensure that such powerful sensing tools are used responsibly, especially in sensitive environments.