New IEEE Wi-Fi Sensing Standard Paves Way for Routers That Detect Movement Through Walls

A new wireless networking standard published by the IEEE in September 2025 has formally established the technical framework for turning ordinary Wi-Fi routers into motion-sensing devices — and industry analysts expect the first commercial products to reach homes and businesses across the UK during 2026.

The standard, IEEE 802.11bf, passed its final ballot with 98 per cent approval and defines how existing Wi-Fi hardware can be used to detect movement, monitor room occupancy, and support applications ranging from automated lighting to elder-care monitoring.

How Wi-Fi Sensing Works

Wi-Fi sensing operates by analysing how radio signals change when a person or object moves through the space between a router and its connected devices. These disruptions, measured as channel state information, create patterns that software can interpret to determine whether someone has entered a room, walked through a hallway, or left a building.

Unlike traditional security cameras, the technology functions in complete darkness and can detect movement through walls. It requires no additional hardware — only a software update to compatible routers.

From Lab to Living Room

Until recently, Wi-Fi sensing was available only through proprietary solutions from individual manufacturers, which limited adoption. The publication of 802.11bf changes that by creating a common standard that any router maker can implement.

Industry forecasts for 2026 point to early commercial pilots in smart buildings, home security systems, energy management, and healthcare settings. Infrastructure vendors are expected to offer sensing as a software feature layered on top of existing wireless networks, with potential cost savings for heating, lighting, and building management.

Research Points to Individual Identification

Beyond basic motion detection, researchers are exploring whether Wi-Fi signals can identify specific individuals. A July 2025 preprint from La Sapienza University of Rome described a system called WhoFi, developed by researchers Danilo Avola, Daniele Pannone, Dario Montagnini, and Emad Emam. Using transformer-based deep learning models to analyse how different bodies distort Wi-Fi signals, the system achieved 95.5 per cent identification accuracy on the NTU-Fi benchmark dataset.

The research, published on arXiv and not yet formally peer-reviewed, used standard TP-Link N750 routers rather than specialist equipment. However, the authors tested only 14 subjects under controlled laboratory conditions — real-world performance in homes with varying layouts, furniture, and interference from multiple devices would likely be lower.

Person identification through Wi-Fi should therefore be regarded as an early-stage research capability rather than a feature available in consumer products.

Privacy Concerns

Privacy researchers have flagged that Wi-Fi sensing provides no visible indication that monitoring is taking place. Unlike cameras, it operates passively and can function without the knowledge of the people being observed.

The WhoFi researchers themselves noted the need for ethical and legal frameworks to govern deployment, particularly given that the technology does not require subjects to carry a device or interact with any hardware. Questions around data storage, consent, and third-party data sharing remain unresolved as the technology moves toward commercial availability.

Key Takeaways

• IEEE 802.11bf, published September 2025, formally standardises Wi-Fi sensing for motion detection and occupancy monitoring
• Commercial pilots are expected during 2026 in smart buildings, security, elder care, and energy management
• La Sapienza University researchers demonstrated 95.5 per cent individual identification accuracy in lab conditions using standard routers
• Individual identification remains experimental and has not been demonstrated at scale in real-world environments
• Privacy frameworks have not yet caught up with the technology

What This Means for Kent Residents

As Wi-Fi sensing features begin appearing in new routers and smart home products sold across Kent, residents should check whether their devices include sensing capabilities and review manufacturer privacy policies. It is worth understanding whether any collected data stays on your local network or is transmitted to external servers. The National Institute of Standards and Technology has published research on the standard, and the IEEE documentation is publicly available for those who want to understand what the technology can and cannot do.

Sources

• IEEE Standards Association — IEEE 802.11bf-2025
• arXiv — WhoFi: Deep Person Re-Identification via Wi-Fi Channel Signal Encoding (Avola et al., 2025)
• NIST — IEEE 802.11bf: Enabling the Widespread Adoption of Wi-Fi Sensing
• TechXplore — WhoFi: New Surveillance Technology Can Track People by How They Disrupt Wi-Fi Signals
• IEEE 802.11 Task Group BF — WLAN Sensing Updates