Conference Paper

Proceedings of Building Simulation 2021: 17th Conference of IBPSA

Investigating the correlation dynamism between WiFi connection counts and camera-based occupancy counts

Nastaran Alishahi, Mohamed M. Ouf, Mazdak Nik-Bakht
Concordia University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.26868/25222708.2021.31057
Abstract: WiFi connection counts were previously suggested as a reliable proxy for occupancy pattern identification, to optimize building systems’ operation. However, validating and calibrating WiFi counts with actual occupancy count data have remained limited in the literature, due to the costly and time-consuming process of collecting ground-truth data. This study uses camerabased image recognition counters as a source of continuous ground-truth data, to examine the correlation between WiFi connection counts and actual occupancy counts. The results show a significant dependency for the ratio of the two values, on the time of day and occupancy level. Therefore, these factors must be accounted for, when using WiFi counts to adapt building operations to variable occupancy.
Keywords: Occupancy estimation, Occupant count, Wi-Fi data, HVAC
Pages: 3712 - 3719
Paper: