  An experimental testbed has been constructed to assess the capabilities of
Light-Wave Sensing, a promising new vitals monitoring approach. A Light-Wave
Sensing apparatus utilizes infrared radiation to contactlessly monitor the
subtle respiratory motions of a subject from meters away. A
respiration-simulating robot was programmed to produce controllable, humanlike
chest displacement patterns for accuracy analysis. Estimation of respiration
rate within tenths of a breath per minute has been demonstrated with the
testbed, establishing the tenability of the method for use in commercial
non-contact respiration monitoring equipment, and setting practical
expectations on the usable range of this sensing modality. An analytical model
is then presented to guide hardware selection, and used to derive the absolute
range limitations of Light-Wave Sensing.
