The Marauder’s Map, seen in Harry Potter series, is considered as one of the most wanted magical objects since it allows the owner to see every single individual in Hogwarts, and understand what they are doing at that time as the map displays their names and exact locations. Here, Pei Zhang from Carnegie Mellon University, in collaboration with Hae Young Noh from Stanford University, has conducted the research on floor vibrations sensing in order to bring this fantasy world’s enchanted map into our modern world.
Zhang and Noh defined “vibrations which are transmitted through the floor” as the key that helps create the duplicate Marauder’s Map, so they installed devices on the ground to detect vibrations. In the same way, machine learning algorithms were used to distinguish between vibrations from humans’ footsteps and irrelevant vibrations, such as background noise, which are created by other objects and machinery. With this vibrations sensing system, researchers could change the entire structure into one enormous sensor platform. Thus, there is no need of charms or spells to create this enchanted map.
Researchers could determine all individuals’ identity and locations by detecting their footsteps and gait. Likewise, Zhang and Noh aim to understand individuals’ size, health, status and their state of mind by considering the way they are walking.
This vibration sensing project has been carried out efficiently thank to researchers’ potential and professional experience: (1) Zhang, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, who specializes in sensing and analyzing sensor data by using machine learning; and (2) Noh, formerly an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, who studies how vibrations are transferred through the building.
This sensing systme can possibly be applied to a variety of industries, including agirculture. In Thailand, there is a study on geophone-based (vibration) sensors used in pig farming. With this sensors, pig farmers can monitor pigs’ behaviors more closely by detecting the vibrations from their footsteps or other motion, so that allows farmers to identify sick pigs.
Similarly, this project possibly provides great benefits to healthcare. The sensors help doctors in identifying people who might face the neurological disease because the sensors can detect the change in a person’s movement or regular activities which might be the early warning of heart attack or stroke.
Retrieved from: https://engineering.cmu.edu/news-events/news/2020/02/17-mauraders-map.html
