Opportunities for human-interfaced capacitive sensing in building environments

Abstract

This work presents several types of novel long-range capacitive sensors that enable better detection of how people move through buildings, presenting ample opportunity for smart lighting and utility control. Various arrangements of sensors on walls, ceilings, and floors turn building surfaces into sensor systems. These systems offer presence and motion detection, and each sensor can also act as a short-range imaging and material detection device. The ability to detect materials in occupants enables this sensor system to act as a non-intrusive security scanning device, improving the confidence of security personnel and easing concerns of travelers and building occupants. Each component of the sensor is modeled physically for electrostatic simulations, and electrically in circuit form. These accurate simulations validate experimental data and confirm a lumped-capacitance system model, as well as provide a tool for designing sensor systems prior to installation.