Wi-Fi Sensing Based on IEEE 802.11bf

Conventionally, Wi-Fi radio signals are widely used for data transmissions in a wireless local area network (WLAN). Recently, it has been an interesting topic to also apply Wi-Fi radio signals to sense the environment where these signals propagate and identify changes associated with certain activities. This technique is referred to as Wi-Fi sensing, and it has been proven effective in a variety of use cases, such as proximity detection, gesture recognition, target counting, and health monitoring. As a result, the IEEE 802.11 working group has formed a new Task Group, 802.11 bf, to develop a new amendment to define necessary PHY and MAC protocols to support Wi-Fi sensing in all spectrum bands, including sub-7 GHz bands (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz band), as well as 60 GHz millimeter-wave band. In this article, our primary goal is to identify and describe the basic elements that have been developed in IEEE 802.11 bf to enable Wi-Fi sensing applications in different WLAN scenarios.