Revolutionary health technology: contactless vital sign measurement!

Revolutionary health technology: contactless vital sign measurement!

The Munich Science Days 2025 took place from October 10th to 12th, 2025 at the FORUM Schwanthaler Höhe. Around 12,000 visitors flocked to the event, a record according to organizers, who offered a diverse program to disseminate information about scientific projects and experimental learning. The University of the Bundeswehr Munich (UniBw M) presented innovative and illustrative projects that aroused great interest.

The highlights included virtual journeys of discovery with VR glasses, led by Prof. Bernhard Ertl. Participants had the opportunity to virtually view dinosaurs in the Bavarian State Collection of Paleontology. The skeleton models such as the Franconian Lindworm and the Archaeopteryx were particularly popular, as they amazed the younger visitors.

Sports biology tests and contactless vital sign measurement

Another interesting area was the sports biology tests led by Prof. Annette Schmidt. Here visitors could try out traditional tests with dumbbells, kettlebells and weights for themselves. State-of-the-art performance testing equipment was also used, including an ultrasound machine to look at your own muscles.

Particularly noteworthy was Keivan Alirezazad's “Vital Sense” project, which enabled contactless measurements of body values. By using an FMCW radar system, heart and respiratory rates could be checked without test subjects having to put on wearable sensors. Instead, the test subjects simply sat still in a chair, which significantly increased the user-friendliness.

The importance of vital sign monitoring for health cannot be overemphasized. Traditional methods are often inconvenient and require wearable sensors. The new system, based on wireless signals, offers an optimal solution through contactless monitoring. Special signal processing methods can detect tiny changes, even when there are several people in one room.

Technological advances with wireless signals

The challenges of monitoring multiple people are well known; Signals can overlap and affect accuracy. But the development of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) has opened up new possibilities. This technology improves the separation of signals by adjusting the direction and frequency, resulting in more precise data.

The system functions on several levels. The physical layer sends out wireless signals that are received by antennas and further processed in the digital layer. These signals help detect human presence and monitor vital signs such as breathing and heartbeat. The special algorithm extracts this information efficiently, making it easier to use in different environments.

The practical applications of this technology are broad and include both healthcare for patient monitoring and crowd monitoring in public places. Further developments aim to optimize the algorithms and create real-time monitoring systems.

The Munich Science Days 2025 offered an impressive insight into the future of science and technology. The UniBw M approaches show how innovative ideas can contribute to improving the quality of life. Many thanks to the university employees for their clear explanation of the projects. Further information can be found at ZVRM.

For more details about the event, also visit the coverage UniBw and further technical insights SciSimple.