Radio frequency interference, noise, motion, color, lighting, and more in a single terminal

DigiEco announced that researcher Gierad Laput from Carnegie Mellon University in the United States has developed an integrated sensor called 'Synthetic Sensor' that enables monitoring of which appliances users interact with and what actions they perform within the home.

Existing home IoT monitoring functions required either converting relevant products into smart products or attaching sensor tags to individual devices for use. However, the integrated sensor comes in the form of a single terminal equipped with all functions including radio frequency interference, electromagnetic noise, motion, color, lighting, air pressure, humidity, temperature, sound, and vibration detection. The usage method is simple: by plugging the sensor terminal into an outlet, it becomes possible to monitor almost all user activities within the home through individual sensors.

For example, when a faucet is turned on, it recognizes the sound of water to detect water usage and provides water consumption information. When a gas range is turned on, it recognizes both sound and heat to detect gas range usage.

This sensor is expected to be utilized in the future as a replacement for home security cameras or in conjunction with home AI terminals to provide personalized information and services to users.

While some people are reluctant to use home security cameras due to privacy concerns, the integrated sensor can provide security-related functionality by recognizing only security-related sounds without a camera, such as breaking glass, crying babies, and other loud noises, and notifying users accordingly.

Researcher Laput stated, "The integrated sensor is not only capable of recognizing when a paper towel dispenser is in use, but can also track how many towels have been used and support functions to order replacement towels when necessary."