This small box is a sensor that passively collects WiFi signals emitted by communication devices like smartwatches, mobile phones, or tablets. The datasheet provides additional information regarding the technical specifications of the sensor.

This sensor collects information about incoming radio signals in its environment and sends this data to the Chair of Mobile Systems at the University of Bamberg.. A concrete expression of the collect information looks like this:

eventtype:
"leave" - No longer seen, leaving the measuring range is assumed
"status" - Initial viewing or status update

epocutc:
Time of sending the event

zone:
Serialnumber of the controller

mac_address:
A SHA-2 Hash

RSSI:
The signal strength of the recieved signal meassured in dBm

techtype:
0 ≙ Bluetooth
1 ≙ Bluetooth Low Energy
2 ≙ WLAN (relevant for Crowdanym)

The captured data will be used in research project CrowdAnym - Preliminary study on possibilities of anonymous data collection as a basis for data-driven visitor guidance in Bamberg's Old Town. This preliminary study will use a test installation in the field to investigate whether the data quality is sufficient for such projects even with strong anonymisation (which in turn is important for the acceptance of the measure), under which conditions the system achieves high acceptance values for the population, and which further applications will be possible with an OpenData provision of the data.

During the project, no personal data will be recorded. The measurement system only collects anonymised MAC addresses (BDAddr) from WiFi- (or Bluetooth-) enabled devices. The MAC addresses are immediately anonymised by a daily-changing random string, called a 'salt', and stored as a hash value, which prevents identification of individual persons and any recognition of them over multiple days. No personal data is collected in the process. The collected data is encrypted and sent to a server operated by the  Chair of Mobile Systems, where it is protected by technical and organisational measures. Preserving the privacy of the people counted by the sensor is of the highest priority.

Prof. Dr. Daniela Nicklas
Chair of Mobile Systems
Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg
Tel.: +49 (0) 951/863 3670
Raum: WE5/05.128 
https://www.uni-bamberg.de/scrl/projekte/crowdanym/