Evaluating the practical range of harmonic radar to detect smart electronics
Beatrice Perez, Cesar Arguello, Timothy J. Pierson, Gregory J. Mazzaro, David F. Kotz · 2023
Prior research has found that harmonic radar systems are able to detect the presence of electronic devices, even if the devices are powered off. These systems could be a powerful tool to help mitigate privacy invasions. For example, in a rental property devices such as cameras or microphones may be surreptitiously placed by a landlord to monitor renters without their knowledge or consent. A mobile harmonic radar system may be able to quickly scan the property and locate all electronic devices. The effective range of these systems for detecting consumer-grade electronics, however, has not been quantified. We address that shortcoming in this paper and evaluate a prototype harmonic radar system. We find the system, a variation of what has been proposed in the literature, is able to reliably detect some devices at a range of about two meters. We discuss the effect of hardware on the range of detection and propose an algorithm for automated detection.