mmCounter: Static People Counting in Dense Indoor Scenarios Using mmWave Radar

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Toha, Tarik Reza, Shao-Jung, Lu, Nirjon, Shahriar
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Toha, Tarik Reza
Shao-Jung
Lu
Nirjon, Shahriar
author_facet Toha, Tarik Reza
Shao-Jung
Lu
Nirjon, Shahriar
contents mmWave radars struggle to detect or count individuals in dense, static (non-moving) groups due to limitations in spatial resolution and reliance on movement for detection. We present mmCounter, which accurately counts static people in dense indoor spaces (up to three people per square meter). mmCounter achieves this by extracting ultra-low frequency (< 1 Hz) signals, primarily from breathing and micro-scale body movements such as slight torso shifts, and applying novel signal processing techniques to differentiate these subtle signals from background noise and nearby static objects. Our problem differs significantly from existing studies on breathing rate estimation, which assume the number of people is known a priori. In contrast, mmCounter utilizes a novel multi-stage signal processing pipeline to extract relevant low-frequency sources along with their spatial information and map these sources to individual people, enabling accurate counting. Extensive evaluations in various environments demonstrate that mmCounter delivers an 87% average F1 score and 0.6 mean absolute error in familiar environments, and a 60% average F1 score and 1.1 mean absolute error in previously untested environments. It can count up to seven individuals in a three square meter space, such that there is no side-by-side spacing and only a one-meter front-to-back distance.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_10357
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle mmCounter: Static People Counting in Dense Indoor Scenarios Using mmWave Radar
Toha, Tarik Reza
Shao-Jung
Lu
Nirjon, Shahriar
Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
mmWave radars struggle to detect or count individuals in dense, static (non-moving) groups due to limitations in spatial resolution and reliance on movement for detection. We present mmCounter, which accurately counts static people in dense indoor spaces (up to three people per square meter). mmCounter achieves this by extracting ultra-low frequency (< 1 Hz) signals, primarily from breathing and micro-scale body movements such as slight torso shifts, and applying novel signal processing techniques to differentiate these subtle signals from background noise and nearby static objects. Our problem differs significantly from existing studies on breathing rate estimation, which assume the number of people is known a priori. In contrast, mmCounter utilizes a novel multi-stage signal processing pipeline to extract relevant low-frequency sources along with their spatial information and map these sources to individual people, enabling accurate counting. Extensive evaluations in various environments demonstrate that mmCounter delivers an 87% average F1 score and 0.6 mean absolute error in familiar environments, and a 60% average F1 score and 1.1 mean absolute error in previously untested environments. It can count up to seven individuals in a three square meter space, such that there is no side-by-side spacing and only a one-meter front-to-back distance.
title mmCounter: Static People Counting in Dense Indoor Scenarios Using mmWave Radar
topic Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.10357