Presence detection through radio frequency emissions from an electrical circuit
Described implementations utilize existing power lines at a location to detect and monitor the presence, position, and/or identity of users at the location. Rather than requiring dedicated monitors within each room or position within the location, the described implementations monitor a baseline voltage signal and/or an introduced voltage signal on the ground line of an existing power line of the location to determine the presence, position, and/or identity of a user at the location, either alone or in combination with other information.
1. A method, comprising:
introducing, with an electrical signal transmitter, a radio frequency (“RF”) signal onto a line of an electrical circuit that provides electricity to one or more rooms of a location;
subsequent to introducing the RF signal, receiving, with a receiver at the location, an affected signal generated as a result of the RF signal reflecting off an object at the location;
determining a signal characteristic vector of the affected signal;
comparing the signal characteristic vector with a baseline signal characteristic vector to determine a difference between the signal characteristic vector and the baseline signal characteristic vector, wherein the baseline signal characteristic vector is indicative of the location when no user is present at the location;
determining, based at least in part on the difference, a position of a user within the location;
receiving, with a device, audio data that includes a speech of the user;
refining an automatic speech recognition (“ASR”) analysis of the audio data based at least in part on the position of the user at the location;
performing the ASR analysis of the audio data, as refined based at least in part on the position, to determine an action to be performed by one or more devices;
generating instructions that cause the one or more devices to perform the action; and
sending the instructions to the one or more devices.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining that the difference exceeds a threshold.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the signal characteristic vector is computed as a time offset between a transmission time at which the RF signal is introduced onto the line of the electrical circuit and a receipt time at which the affected signal is received with the receiver.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the signal characteristic vector is computed based on a plurality of signal characteristic vectors determined over a period of time.
5. An apparatus, comprising:
a radio frequency (“RF”) signal transmitter operable to introduce an RF signal onto a line of an electrical circuit that provides electricity to one or more rooms of a location;
a receiver operable to receive an affected signal;
one or more processors; and
a memory storing program instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to at least:
introduce, with the RF signal transmitter and at a first time, the RF signal onto the electrical circuit;
receive, with the receiver and at a second time that is subsequent to the first time, the affected signal;
determine a signal characteristic vector of the affected signal;
determine that the signal characteristic vector is different than a baseline signal characteristic vector;
wherein the baseline signal characteristic vector is indicative of the location when no user is present at the location;
determine, based at least in part on the difference, a position of a user within the location;
receive, with a device, audio data corresponding to a query that includes a speech of the user;
refine an automatic speech recognition (“ASR”) analysis of the audio data based at least in part on the position of the user at the location;
perform the ASR analysis of the audio data, as refined based at least in part on the position, to determine an action to be performed by one or more devices;
generate instructions that cause the one or more devices to perform the action; and
send the instructions to the one or more devices.
6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the program instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to at least:
determine that the difference exceeds a threshold.
7. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the signal characteristic vector is computed as a time offset between a transmission time at which the RF signal is introduced onto the line of the electrical circuit and a receipt time at which the affected signal is received with the receiver.
8. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the RF signal is introduced on one or more of a positive line of the electrical circuit, a neutral line of the electrical circuit, or a ground line of the electrical circuit.
9. The apparatus of claim 5 , further comprising:
an electrical prong coupled to the RF signal transmitter and configured to be inserted into an electrical outlet of the electrical circuit, wherein the RF signal is introduced onto the electrical circuit through the electrical prong.
10. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein:
the electrical outlet is within a room of the one or more rooms;
the RF signal is introduced onto a branch of the electrical circuit corresponding to the room; and
the position of the user at the location is further determined based at least in part on the branch of the electrical circuit.
11. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the program instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to at least:
compare a ground line signal measured from a ground line of the electrical circuit by the apparatus with a baseline signal to determine a difference between the ground line signal and the baseline signal.
12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the difference between the ground line signal and the baseline signal is indicative of the user physically contacting a second device connected to the electrical circuit or the user being within a defined distance of the second device.
13. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the program instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to at least:
determine, based at least in part on the difference between the ground line signal and the baseline signal, a device type of the second device.
14. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the program instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to at least:
determine, based on an input received by the apparatus, an identity of the user.
15. An apparatus, comprising:
an electrical signal transmitter configured to introduce a signal onto an electrical circuit that provides electricity to one or more rooms of a location such that the signal is emitted from an electrical line of the electrical circuit;
a receiver that receives an affected signal;
one or more processors; and
a memory coupled to the one or more processors, the memory storing program instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to at least:
determine a signal characteristic vector representative of the affected signal;
compare the signal characteristic vector with a stored signal characteristic vector;
determine, based at least in part on the comparison, a position of a user at the location;
receive, with a device, audio data that includes a speech of the user;
refine an automatic speech recognition (“ASR”) analysis of the audio data based at least in part on the position of the user at the location;
perform the ASR analysis of the audio data, as refined based at least in part on the position of the user, to determine an action to be performed by one or more devices:
generate instructions that cause the one or more devices to perform the action; and
send the instructions to the one or more devices.
16. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the program instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to at least:
determine a change in a second signal on at least one of a positive line of the electrical circuit, a neutral line of the electrical circuit, or a ground line of the electrical circuit; and
wherein the determination of the position of the user at the location is further based at least in part on the change in the second signal.
17. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the program instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to at least:
determine, based at least in part on the second signal, a device type of a second device contacted by the user or within a distance of the position of the user.
18. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the program instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to at least:
compare a difference between the second signal and a baseline signal with a stored user signal; and
determine, based at least in part on the comparison, a user profile corresponding to the stored user signal.
19. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the signal characteristic vector is computed as a time offset between a transmission time at which the signal is introduced onto the electrical circuit and a receipt time at which the affected signal is received with the receiver.
20. The apparatus of claim 19 , wherein the program instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to at least:
determine, based at least in part on the time offset and a frequency of the signal, a distance to an object; and
wherein the position of the user is further determined based at least in part on the distance and a stored distance for the location.