System and method for detecting movement of an individual using millimeter wave radar

Abstract

A sensor including: a transmitter configured to transmit electromagnetic waves between 1 GHz and 300 GHz; a receiver configured to receive the electromagnetic waves from the transmitter, wherein the transmitter and receiver are positioned in relation to a subject to be scanned such that the receiver receives reflected electromagnetic waves; and a control station for processing the received reflected electromagnetic waves and determining movement of an individual. A method for determining movement of an individual including: transmitting electromagnetic waves between 1 GHz and 300 GHz to a subject to be scanned; receiving reflected electromagnetic waves from the subject; analyzing the electromagnetic waves and reflected electromagnetic waves to determine movement of the individual.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A sensor system for detecting movement of an individual comprising:
 a set of radio-frequency radars, each of the radio-frequency radars including:
 a transmitter configured to transmit electromagnetic waves between 1 GHz and 300 GHz; 
 a receiver configured to receive the electromagnetic waves from the transmitter; and 
 wherein the transmitter and receiver are positioned to detect movement of the individual such that the receiver receives reflected electromagnetic waves from reflection of the electromagnetic waves off the individual. 
   
     
     
         2 . A sensor system according to  claim 1  wherein the sensor system determines whether the individual has fallen. 
     
     
         3 . A sensor system according to  claim 1  wherein sensor system determines a gait of the individual. 
     
     
         4 . A sensor system according to  claim 1  wherein the sensor system determines a sleeping pattern of the individual. 
     
     
         5 . A sensor system according to  claim 4  wherein the sensor system determines the sleeping pattern based on movement of a chest of the individual. 
     
     
         6 . A sensor system according to  claim 1  wherein each of the radio frequency radars further comprises a set of antennas. 
     
     
         7 . A sensor system according to  claim 7  wherein the set of antennas equals eighteen antennas. 
     
     
         8 . A sensor system according to  claim 2  further comprising a processor for communicating with at least one of the set of radio-frequency radars to receive signals representing the reflected electromagnetic waves and for processing the signals via machine learning algorithms or artificial intelligence to determine if the individual has fallen. 
     
     
         9 . A sensor system according to  claim 8  wherein the processor determines if the individual has fallen by tracking a position of the individual between at least two consecutive signals. 
     
     
         10 . A sensor system according to  claim 4  further comprising a processor for communicating with at least one of the set of radio-frequency radars to receive signals representing the reflected electromagnetic waves and for processing the signals via machine learning algorithms or artificial intelligence to determine the sleeping pattern of the individual. 
     
     
         11 . A sensor system according to  claim 10  wherein the processing determines the sleeping pattern of the individual by tracking a position of a chest of the individual between at least two consecutive signals. 
     
     
         12 . A sensor system according to  claim 11  wherein tracking a position of a chest of the individual comprises tracking a breathing pattern of the individual. 
     
     
         13 . A sensor system according to  claim 3  further comprising a processor for communicating with at least one of the set of radio-frequency radars to receive signals representing the reflected electromagnetic waves and for processing the signals via machine learning algorithms or artificial intelligence to determine the gait of the individual. 
     
     
         14 . A sensor system according to  claim 13  wherein the processing determines the gait of the individual by tracking a body of the individual between at least two consecutive signals. 
     
     
         15 . A sensor system according to  claim 14  wherein the processing comprises:
 determining a time of capture of each of the at least two consecutive signals; and determining a z co-ordinate of the body of the individual for each of the at least two consecutive signals; wherein the z co-ordinate represents a vector perpendicular to a plane of the radar placement. 
 
     
     
         16 . A sensor system according to  claim 14  wherein the processing comprises clutter removal to separate the reflected electromagnetic waves from the body of the individual from the reflected electromagnetic waves from static objects surrounding the individual. 
     
     
         17 . A method for sensing comprising:
 transmitting, by a transmitter, electromagnetic waves between 1 GHz and 300 GHz towards an individual;   receiving, by a receiver, reflected electromagnetic waves from the individual; and analyzing the electromagnetic waves and reflected electromagnetic waves to determine movement of the individual.   
     
     
         18 . A method according to  claim 17  wherein analyzing the electromagnetic waves and reflected electromagnetic waves comprises combining the electromagnetic and reflected electromagnetic waves to produce an analog signal result. 
     
     
         19 . A method according to  claim 18  further comprising converting the analog signal to a digital signal to be further analyzed at a control station. 
     
     
         20 . A method according to  claim 19  wherein the control station is configured to analyze the signal using machine learning, decision trees or artificial intelligence.