Open-source RuView project launched: it turns standard Wi-Fi into a radar for tracking people through walls

maxhipper · 24.07.2026 14:13 · 2 min read

An open-source project called RuView (WiFi DensePose) is gaining traction on GitHub, turning standard Wi-Fi equipment into a spatial sensing locator. The system can detect the presence of people, track their movements, and even capture vital signs without the use of video cameras or wearable devices.

How it works

Instead of visual observation, the system relies on radio physics. Any Wi-Fi router fills a room with radio waves that reflect off walls, objects, and human bodies. When a person moves, or even when their chest makes microscopic movements, the radio frequency signals are distorted.

RuView reads CSI (Channel State Information) data using inexpensive sensors and processes it with lightweight neural network models.

Key system capabilities

Presence and movement detection: identifying the presence of people behind obstacles and their count in real time.
Pose and activity recognition: the system can distinguish whether a person is standing, sitting, lying down, or has fallen (including 17-point pose “skeleton” mapping).
Vital signs monitoring: contactless measurement of respiratory rate and tracking of heart rate dynamics during sleep or rest.
Privacy protection: data is processed locally without transmitting images or audio, addressing privacy concerns inherent in video camera-based systems.

Hardware and availability

The project’s main advantage is the accessibility of its components. Building a basic node requires a Wi-Fi-enabled microcontroller (such as an ESP32-S3 or ESP32-C6, which cost around $10) connected to a board like a Raspberry Pi or a home server.

The project is distributed under an open-source license. The source code, assembly instructions, and pre-trained model weights are published in the official RuView GitHub repository.