Wi-Fi Vision

Screenshot in engine
From the hall
Low angle view

Inspiration

Humans have a multitude of senses we use every day to understand our world; but what if we could expand that to include other types of information? This idea is what inspired Wi-Fi Vision. It is a way to get a glimpse into the world of electromagnetic radiation in the form of radio waves in the 2.4 GHz band.

What it does

The original plan was to use AR goggles to overlay Wi-Fi signals into a vector map to understand their interactions with the environment. Instead we had to settle with VR. We modeled our environment in the Unreal Engine and simulated a three dimensional vector field from measurements recorded within the space.

Challenges we ran into

We attempted to build Wi-Fi measuring beacons but did not have the necessary hardware available. We also attempted to program an automated signal scanner but ran into complications with system functions failing to provide reliable and reproducible data. In the end I collected the data manually and plotted it by hand.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

I am proud of the level of detail we managed to capture with the virtual space in which we worked in, utilizing blender and the Unreal Engine. I am also especially proud of the vector field simulation that was produced to visualize the wireless signals.

What we learned

We learned how to use new tools and how they can interoperate with each other. This gave us more valuable skills that will help us in the future. We also learned how not to do a lot of things which is perhaps even more valuable than anything else.

What's next for Wi-Fi Vision

Next we plan to implement true to life Augmented Reality with real-time data processing to realistically visualize Wi-Fi and gain new insights into the world of digital signals.