Acoustic Micro-Doppler Gait Signatures of Humans and Animals

A micro-Doppler active acoustic sensing system is described. We report its use in acquiring gait signatures of humans and four-legged animals in indoor and outdoor environments. Signals from an accelerometer attached to the leg support the interpretation of the components in the measured micro-Doppler signature. The acoustic micro-Doppler system described in this paper is simpler and offers advantages over the widely used electromagnetic wave micro-Doppler radars. It can be implemented in custom integrated circuits and embedded in a multi-modal wireless sensor network for autonomous detection and classification.