Fancy a cuppa? Now you can switch the kettle on from another room using Wi-Fi signals reflected off your body

System allows users to control home appliances using body movements *. Detects tiny changes inWi-Fi signals as they reflect off a moving body *. Five people can move in the same room without confusing the system *. System, called 'WiSee’, is similar in concept to how the Xbox Kinect sensor uses cameras torecognise gestures - but doesn't need a camera or sensors.Too lazy to get up to switch the kettle on? Soon you may be able to simply raise your hand or nod your head from another room, and you’ll be moments away from a fresh cup of tea. This is the hope of researchers at the University of Washington who have developed technology that will allow people to control household devices with simple gestures. The technology, named ‘WiSee’, is similar in concept to how Microsoft's Xbox Kinect sensor works by using cameras to recognise gestures.A hand gesture changes the TV channel using WiSee technology. The system detects the changes in the electromagnetic waves of Wi-Fi signals as they reflect off a moving human body By adapting a Wi-Fi router and wireless household devices, the researchers developed a system that can detect specific movements without the need for sensors or cameras. They claim it is simpler and cheaper than similar gesture-recognition technologies. More... *. Lost the remote controlagain? Not to worry - now you can use your FINGER to change channels! *. New gadget that controls a car's functions with just a wink or a nod of the driver's head *. Microsoft unveils the new Xbox One - with improved voice controls, an exclusive Halo TV show, built-in Skype and a redesigned Kinect sensor WiSee works using the Doppler effect - the way a wave of sound or light changes frequency at the point it is observed dependingon the source of the wave’s movements. A common example of the Doppler effect is the change inpitch of an ambulance siren asit passes. HOW DOES THE 'WISEE' TECHNOLOGY WORK? A standard Wi-Fi router can be adapted to function as a receiver. This receiver then listens toall of the wireless transmissions coming from devices throughout a home, including smartphones, laptops and tablets. When a person moves, there is a slight change in the frequency of the wireless signal. Moving a hand or foot causes the receiver to detect a pattern of changes known as the Doppler frequency shift. These frequency changes are very small – only several hertz – when compared with Wi-Fi signals that have a 20 megahertz bandwidth and operate at 5 gigahertz. An algorithm to detect these slight shifts and the system also accounts for gaps in wireless signals when devices aren’t transmitting. If a person wants to use the WiSee, they would perform aspecific repetition gesture sequence to get access to the receiver. Once the wireless receiver locks onto the user, they can perform normal gesturesto interact with the devices and appliances in her home. The researchers tested thesegestures with five users in a two-bedroom apartment and an office environment. Out of the 900 gestures performed, WiSee accurately recognised 94 per cent of them. It was found that as many as five people can move simultaneously in the same room without confusing the receiver. The Wi-Fi receiver listens to all of the wireless transmissions coming from devices throughout a home, including smartphones, laptops and tablets. When a person moves there is a slight change in the frequency of the wireless signal Collaborator Sidhant Gupta, a doctoral student in computer science and engineering at theuniversity, who has worked with Microsoft Research on two other similar technologies. SoundWave, which, as its name suggests, uses sound waves to monitor whole-body gestures and Humantenna, which uses radiation from electrical wires. But WiSee stands apart because it doesn’t require theuser to be in the same room as the receiver or the device.‘This is the first whole-home gesture recognition system that works without either requiring instrumentation of the user with sensors or deploying cameras in every room,’ said Qifan Pu, who worked on the research project. The researchers now plan to look at the ability to control multiple devices at once. WiSee detects the changes in the electromagnetic waves of Wi-Fi signals as they reflect off a moving human body. Using a software algorithm, the technology can identify nine different whole-body gestures, ranging from pushing, pulling and punching to full-body bowling.