Towards Robust and Unobtrusive Human-Centric Sensing via Intelligent Hardware

PhD Thesis Proposal Defence


Title: "Towards Robust and Unobtrusive Human-Centric Sensing via Intelligent 
Hardware"

by

Mr. Chenggao LI


Abstract:

Human-centric sensing serves as the bridge between physical reality and digital
intelligence, significantly transforming lifestyles ranging from smart space
interaction to proactive healthcare management. However, the realization of
ubiquitous and trustworthy human-centric sensing is hindered by four critical
challenges: (i) the vulnerability of contactless sensing to dynamic
environmental interference, (ii) the underexplored security risks inherent in
the wireless physical layer, (iii) the trade-off between sensing fidelity and
physical intrusiveness in contact-based monitoring, and (iv) the generalization
issues arising from significant inter-subject physiological variability. This
thesis investigates these challenges through the synergy of intelligent hardware
and physics-aware algorithms. Specifically, we leverage Reconfigurable
Intelligent Surfaces (RIS) to enhance the robustness and security of contactless
sensing, while developing novel interfaces with domain adaptation for
unobtrusive contact-based blood pressure monitoring. Collectively, these
contributions establish a comprehensive sensing ecosystem that ensures both
system robustness and user unobtrusiveness.


Date:                   Friday, 6 February 2026

Time:                   10:00am - 12:00noon

Venue:                  Room 2132C
                        Lift 22

Committee Members:      Prof. Qian Zhang (Supervisor)
                        Prof. Mo Li (Chairperson)
                        Dr. Xiaojuan Ma