4.5 KiB
4.5 KiB
ADR-035: Live Sensing UI Accuracy & Data Source Transparency
Status
Accepted
Date
2026-03-02
Context
Issue #86 reported that the live demo shows a static/barely-animated stick figure and the sensing page displays inaccurate data, despite a working ESP32 sending real CSI frames. Investigation revealed three root causes:
- Docker defaults to
--source simulated— even with a real ESP32 connected, the server generates synthetic sine-wave data instead of reading UDP frames. - Live demo pose is analytically computed —
derive_pose_from_sensing()generates keypoints usingsin(tick)math unrelated to actual signal content. No trained.rvfmodel is loaded by default. - Sensing feature extraction is oversimplified — the server uses single-frame thresholds for motion detection and has no temporal analysis (breathing FFT, sliding window variance, frame history).
- No data source indicator — users cannot tell whether they are seeing real or simulated data.
Decision
1. Docker: Auto-detect data source
- Default
CSI_SOURCEchanged fromsimulatedtoauto. autoprobes UDP port 5005 for an ESP32; falls back to simulation if none found.- Users override via
CSI_SOURCE=esp32 docker-compose up.
2. Signal-responsive pose derivation
derive_pose_from_sensing()now reads actual sensing features:motion_band_powerdrives limb splay and walking gait detection (> 0.55).breathing_band_powerdrives torso expansion/contraction phased to breathing rate.varianceseeds per-joint noise so the skeleton moves independently.dominant_freq_hzdrives lateral torso lean.change_pointsadd burst jitter to extremity keypoints.
- Tick rate reduced from 500ms to 100ms (2 fps → 10 fps).
pose_sourcefield (signal_derived|model_inference) added to every WebSocket frame.
3. Temporal feature extraction
- 100-frame circular buffer (
VecDeque) added toAppStateInner. - Per-subcarrier temporal variance via Welford-style accumulation.
- Breathing rate estimation via 9-candidate Goertzel filter bank (0.1–0.5 Hz) with 3x SNR gate.
- Frame-to-frame L2 motion score replaces single-frame amplitude thresholds.
- Signal quality metric: SNR-based (RSSI − noise floor) blended with temporal stability.
- Signal field driven by subcarrier variance spatial mapping instead of fixed animation.
4. Data source transparency in UI
- Sensing tab: Banner showing "LIVE - ESP32" (green), "RECONNECTING..." (yellow), or "SIMULATED DATA" (red).
- Live Demo tab: "Estimation Mode" badge showing "Signal-Derived" (green) or "Model Inference" (blue).
- Setup Guide panel explaining what each ESP32 count provides (1x: presence/breathing, 3x: localization, 4x+: full pose with trained model).
- Simulation fallback delayed from immediate to 5 failed reconnect attempts (~30s).
Consequences
Positive
- Users with real ESP32 hardware get real data by default (auto-detect).
- Simulated data is clearly labeled — no more confusion about data authenticity.
- Pose skeleton visually responds to actual signal changes (motion, breathing, variance).
- Feature extraction produces physiologically meaningful metrics (breathing rate via Goertzel, temporal motion detection).
- Setup guide manages expectations about what each hardware configuration provides.
Negative
- Signal-derived pose is still an approximation, not neural network inference. Per-limb tracking requires a trained
.rvfmodel + 4+ ESP32 nodes. - Goertzel filter bank adds ~O(9×N) computation per frame (negligible at 100 frames).
- Users with only 1 ESP32 may still be disappointed that arm tracking doesn't work — but the UI now explains why.
Files Changed
docker/Dockerfile.rust—CSI_SOURCE=autoenv, shell entrypoint for variable expansiondocker/docker-compose.yml—CSI_SOURCE=${CSI_SOURCE:-auto}, shell command stringwifi-densepose-sensing-server/src/main.rs— frame history buffer, Goertzel breathing estimation, temporal motion score, signal-driven pose derivation, pose_source field, 100ms tick defaultui/services/sensing.service.js—dataSourcestate, delayed simulation fallback,_simulatedmarkerui/components/SensingTab.js— data source banner, "About This Data" cardui/components/LiveDemoTab.js— estimation mode badge, setup guide panelui/style.css— banner, badge, and guide panel styles
References
- Issue: https://github.com/ruvnet/wifi-densepose/issues/86
- ADR-029: RuvSense multistatic sensing mode (proposed — full pipeline integration)
- ADR-014: SOTA signal processing