AbstractsComputer Science
Capacitive sensing with a fluorescent lamp
| Institution: | MIT |
|---|---|
| Department: | Electrical Engineering and Computer Science |
| Degree: | M. Eng. |
| Year: | 2007 |
| Keywords: | Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. |
| Record ID: | 1811186 |
| Full text PDF: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/41255 |
Abstract
This work presents a modified fluorescent lamp that can be used as a capacitive sensing system. The lamp sensor measures changes in the electric fields emitted from the fluorescent bulbs in order to deduce the presence and motion of conductive and dielectric objects below the lamp. The prototype lamp sensor demonstrated a detection range of 10 feet for the presence and motion of a human below the lamp. Potential applications of the lamp sensor include proximity detection, motion sensing, security monitoring, activity level monitoring for power management and control and metal or dangerous substance detection.
