Through Walls and Wi-Fi: Two Breakthroughs in Wireless Biometric Sensing

Author: admin | 17 Jun 2025

In a major leap for surveillance and security tech, researchers have unveiled two wireless biometric sensing breakthroughs that can identify and monitor individuals through walls and without physical contact. Vancouver-based P2P Group has significantly extended the range of its Wi-Fi-based biometric detection system from three to eight meters. This 166% improvement relies solely on software upgrades to its Inturai AI, as this analyzes disruptions in ambient Wi-Fi signals to detect heartbeats and respiration. This does not involve any cameras, wearable devices or even contact. This innovation is more efficient and stealth, but it also brings the question of how it may be used maliciously and invade privacy in the public or personal spheres.

At the same time, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with MIT Lincoln Laboratory has evaluated DePLife. The DePLife is a radar-based technology that can read life through walls when installed on drones or in the hands despite the potential of being shaken. As an example, in a search-and-rescue operation, DePLife may be deployed on a drone location of buried people under debris or behind obstacles with higher chances of being able to detect life as long as vital signs exist even in the event of motion within the environment, due to the advanced motion compensation algorithms that DePLife power. It can be used by tactical squads to track a concealed person or watch them at a safe range of around 30 feet. Combined, both technologies constitute a shift to ambient, passive contactless biometric sensing, in which the presence and identity of human beings will be checked passively, at time when there is no physical or visual involvement.

Even though the two systems could bring great advantages in the medical and national security sectors, privacy activists are keen to observe with which frequencies such powerful tools will be controlled, particularly in open or domestic fields. One particular issue is whether this technology can be used passively in a home, school, or office setting without any legal supervision or user authorization. Also, raising alarms about constant surveillance and erosion of personal privacy.

Bridging Innovation and Ethics in Passive Biometric Surveillance

Though one uses Wi-Fi signal disruptions and the other radar reflections, both technologies share a common goal: detecting life passively and non-invasively. Both technologies share a common goal, that is to detect life passively and non-invasively. The P2P groups’ system thrives in Wi-Fi-dense indoor settings, while DePLife suits law enforcement and rescue operations in more complex spaces.

These innovations can monitor individuals without their awareness or consent. Thus, they might end up crossing that thin boundary between security and surveillance excess, particularly with increased commercialization and implementation. As an example, occupancy or movement in a public space might be monitored in a smart city environment with no apparent infrastructure by using these systems. Although this can increase safety and resources management, they also have concerns about excess surveillance and privacy rights undermining.

In contrast to classic monitoring systems where the person is not aware of being tracked and has no permission, Facia, on the contrary, guarantees the user is aware of the biometric verification performed and has consented to such a procedure, which eliminates the ethical issues listed above.  Facia’s technology is specifically built to detect spoofing and block unauthorized data access. It’s one-second liveness and accurate face matching brought false match rates below 1%,. The real-time liveness detection and anti-spoofing tools help ensure that biometric data is used ethically and securely.