iFloor

Intelligent floor for the detection of activities in buildings

The iFloor project falls within the context of the detection and localisation of people in indoor areas as well as the analysis of their trajectories (tracking issue). 

The technology proposed in the iFloor project is built on the expertise of the three project partners, namely 

1. low-cost sensors attached to or integrated into the soil material, 
2. robust communicating nodes respecting the paradigms of the Internet of Things and 
3. software modules for data processing (machine learning, clustering). 

An important advantage of the iFloor approach is the invisibility of the sensors, reducing the perception of intrusion by users. Another advantage is the cost, which is much lower than solutions based on cameras and other portable equipment. The potential applications of iFloor are numerous in various fields such as security, surveillance, marketing, smart buildings, health, sport and leisure. The project aims to develop 2 pilots, one for a trajectory analysis application in a retail environment, the other for an application in the field of monitoring elderly people in an in-home care situation.

Two versions of sensors have been developed and studied at HEPIA within the framework of the project, respecting the constraint of aiming for low-cost sensors that can be easily integrated into the ground. A first version, wired, is based on transducers consisting of a pair of comb-shaped electrodes. The second, more ambitious, non-wireless version aimed to print the sensors on the floor tiles using a pad printing technique.