About Me

I am a researcher and engineer with passion for wireless technologies, which I see as a key enabler for future technical advancements. Currently I am working at Siemens on making the world a safer place.

Prior to joining Siemens, I did my PhD in the Wireless Communications Group at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, under the supervision of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Armin Wittneben.
My research was focused on human posture detection with wireless body area networks, and indoor localization with Bluetooth LE and UWB. I have 5+ years of expertise in wireless technologies with publications at top-tier conferences (ICC, Globecom, ...).
During my B.Sc. and M.Sc. studies in Electrical Engineering at FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany, I had the chance to gain practical experience on antenna design and hardware for wireless applications as well as signal processing for radar and microwave imaging.

Projects

Next Generation Smart Fire Detector

next-gen smoke detector by Siemens Fire Safety

• developing device firmware in embedded C++ for the Siemens fire peripherals code platform
• planning, executing and evaluating test measurements for existing and new detector features
• developing software tools in Python for internal use

Human Posture Detection from Ultra-Wideband (UWB) On-Body Signals

recognition of body postures for fall prevention of elderly care patients

• conducted UWB signal measurements between on-body nodes with Vector Network Analyzer and oscilloscope
• performed statistical analysis of the obtained measurements in Matlab
• employed various machine learning approaches to the posture classification task in Python
• selected a suitable low-complexity, low-cost system architecture
• verified feasibility and functionality in simulation
• supervised student research assistant and related bachelor's group project (thesis)
• publications: [3], [4], [6], [PhD thesis]

Distance and Displacement Estimation in Multipath UWB Indoor Channels

estimate distance and displacement between wireless nodes without direct interaction between them

• no requirement for line of sight, knowledge about environment or absolute positions
• implemented estimation algorithms in Matlab
• verified novel concept with measurements in indoor scenario
• co-supervised two related semester projects
• publication: [5]

Indoor Localization and Tracking with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)

locate and track an agent (smartphone) based on BLE signals to surrounding anchors

• implemented distance estimation based on received signal strength indicator (RSSI) in Matlab
• evaluated different calibration schemes for accurate propagation model
• tested system in various indoor environments
• performed sensor fusion with inertial measurement unit (IMU) data using an Extended Kalman Filter
• publications: [1], [2]
• industry cooperation with Schindler AG

Efficient Decoding Scheme for Location-Based Chipless RFID Transponders

(M.Sc. thesis at the Institute for Microwaves & Photonics, FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg under supervision of Prof. Dr.-Ing. M. Vossiek)
obtain high-resolution images of mmWave QR tags with structured surfaces

• developed setup for Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imaging of structured metallic surface tag
• selected and implemented signal processing algorithms for high-resolution SAR imaging in Matlab
• programmed robot controls for precise data acquisition with commercial 77-GHz FMCW MIMO radar
• conducted measurement campaign with industrial 6-axis robot
• demonstrated successful tag information recovery from surface image

Correction of Rotation in Reconstructed Radar Image

correct an arbitrary rotation of a mm-wave QR tag in a 2D image to facilitate information recovery

• implemented processing of raw radar data in Matlab
• selected image processing algorithms for feature detection
• wrote Matlab scripts for semi-automatic rotation correction of image content

Parameter Analysis For Dielectric Layer Detection with Close-Range Radar

quantify the influence of radar system parameters for eigenvalue-based layer detection

• performed simulative parameter analysis for different reconstruction algorithms in Matlab
• verified and refined suitable parameter sets on radar measurement data (75-110 GHz)
• provided recommendations for application in security scanners based on evaluated data

Development of a 868 MHz RFID Antenna Array

(B.Sc. thesis at the Institute for Microwaves & Photonics, FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg under supervision of Prof. Dr.-Ing. M. Vossiek)
develop and test a phased array of patch antennas for RFID applications

• determined suitable antenna designs for circular polarization
• designed and simulated promising candidates in CST Microwave Studio and Ansys HFSS
• tested manufactured prototypes with a Vector Network Analyzer

Publications

Google Scholar

Papers

1. R. Heyn and A. Wittneben, WBAN Node Topologies for Reliable Posture Detection from On-Body UWB RSS Measurements, IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC), Seoul (KR), May 2022
2. G. Dumphart, R. Kramer, R. Heyn, M. Kuhn, and A. Wittneben, Pairwise Node Localization From Differences in Their UWB Channels to Observer Nodes, IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing, 2022
3. R. Heyn and A. Wittneben, Comprehensive Measurement-Based Evaluation of Posture Detection from Ultra Low Power UWB Signals, IEEE International Symposium on Personal, Indoor and Mobile Radio Communications (PIMRC), virtual, Sep. 2021
4. R. Heyn and A. Wittneben, Detection of Fall-Related Body Postures from WBAN Signals, 2020 IEEE Global Communications Conference (GLOBECOM), Taipei (TW), Dec. 2020
5. H. Schulten, M. Kuhn, R. Heyn, G. Dumphart, F. Trösch, and A. Wittneben, On the Crucial Impact of Antennas and Diversity on BLE RSSI-based Indoor Localization, IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference (VTC Spring), Kuala Lumpur (MY), Apr. 2019
6. R. Heyn, M. Kuhn, H. Schulten, G. Dumphart, J. Zwyssig, F. Trösch, and A. Wittneben, User Tracking for Access Control with Bluetooth Low Energy, IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference (VTC Spring), Kuala Lumpur (MY), Apr. 2019

Doctoral Thesis

R. Heyn, Posture Recognition for Fall Prevention with Low-Complexity UWB WBANs, ETH Zurich, 2023

Academic Service

Teaching

ETH Zurich (2017-2022): Teaching Assistant

• Kommunikationssysteme (Communication Systems)
• Wireless Access Systems
• Digital Communications & Signal Processing
• Mobile Communications: Technology & Quality of Service

FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg (2012-2014): Student Teaching Assistant

• Grundlagen der systemnahen Programmierung in C (Fundamentals of embedded programming in C)
• Signale und Systeme 1 & 2 (Signals & Systems 1 & 2)

Mentoring & (Co-)Advising

• U. Chakraborty (research project assistantship on Human Posture Detection from UWB On-Body Signals)
• O. Stadler, J. Küchler, R. Kunz (B.Sc. group project on Human Posture Detection from UWB On-Body Signals)
• N. Chitnis (semester project on Distance and Displacement Estimation in Multipath UWB Indoor Channels)
• R. Kramer (semester project on Distance and Displacement Estimation in Multipath UWB Indoor Channels)

Technical Program Comittee Membership

• Globecom 2021 (SAC e-Health)
• Globecom 2022 (SAC e-Health)

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