UI server does not detect anything, despite showing "ESP32 hardware connected"

[cadantas33]

I flashed the latest firmware to my ESP32-S3 and did some quick testing by looking at the serial monitor output on IDF.
This is what I have got - pretty sure that the logs at the end means that the ESP32 is sending data over the network:

I (222) cpu_start: Multicore app
I (231) cpu_start: Pro cpu start user code
I (231) cpu_start: cpu freq: 160000000 Hz
I (231) app_init: Application information:
I (231) app_init: Project name:     esp32-csi-node
I (236) app_init: App version:      v0.4.3.1-esp32-3-g66e2fa083-dir
I (242) app_init: Compile time:     Mar 15 2026 16:11:50
I (247) app_init: ELF file SHA256:  f9f9a54b6...        
I (251) app_init: ESP-IDF:          -128-NOTFOUND
I (255) efuse_init: Min chip rev:     v0.0
I (259) efuse_init: Max chip rev:     v0.99 
I (263) efuse_init: Chip rev:         v0.2
I (267) heap_init: Initializing. RAM available for dynamic allocation:
I (273) heap_init: At 3FCB4BD0 len 00034B40 (210 KiB): RAM
I (278) heap_init: At 3FCE9710 len 00005724 (21 KiB): RAM
I (284) heap_init: At 3FCF0000 len 00008000 (32 KiB): DRAM
I (289) heap_init: At 600FE11C len 00001ECC (7 KiB): RTCRAM
I (295) spi_flash: detected chip: generic
I (298) spi_flash: flash io: dio
W (301) spi_flash: Detected size(16384k) larger than the size in the binary image header(8192k). Using the size in the binary image header.
W (313) i2c: This driver is an old driver, please migrate your application code to adapt `driver/i2c_master.h`
I (323) sleep_gpio: Configure to isolate all GPIO pins in sleep state
I (329) sleep_gpio: Enable automatic switching of GPIO sleep configuration
I (336) main_task: Started on CPU0
I (346) main_task: Calling app_main()
I (366) nvs_config: NVS override: ssid=Beeworking 2G
I (366) nvs_config: NVS override: password=***
I (366) nvs_config: NVS override: target_ip=192.168.100.102
W (366) nvs_config: wasm_verify=1 but no wasm_pubkey in NVS — uploads will be rejected
I (376) main: ESP32-S3 CSI Node (ADR-018) — Node ID: 1
I (386) pp: pp rom version: e7ae62f
I (386) net80211: net80211 rom version: e7ae62f
I (396) wifi:wifi driver task: 3fcbfc74, prio:23, stack:6656, core=0
I (406) wifi:wifi firmware version: 48ea317a7
I (406) wifi:wifi certification version: v7.0
I (406) wifi:config NVS flash: enabled
I (406) wifi:config nano formatting: disabled
I (416) wifi:Init data frame dynamic rx buffer num: 32
I (416) wifi:Init static rx mgmt buffer num: 5
I (426) wifi:Init management short buffer num: 32
I (426) wifi:Init dynamic tx buffer num: 32
I (426) wifi:Init static tx FG buffer num: 2
I (436) wifi:Init static rx buffer size: 2212
I (436) wifi:Init static rx buffer num: 10
I (446) wifi:Init dynamic rx buffer num: 32
I (446) wifi_init: rx ba win: 6
I (446) wifi_init: accept mbox: 6
I (456) wifi_init: tcpip mbox: 32
I (456) wifi_init: udp mbox: 6
I (456) wifi_init: tcp mbox: 6
I (456) wifi_init: tcp tx win: 5760
I (466) wifi_init: tcp rx win: 5760
I (466) wifi_init: tcp mss: 1440
I (466) wifi_init: WiFi IRAM OP enabled
I (476) wifi_init: WiFi RX IRAM OP enabled
I (476) phy_init: phy_version 680,a6008b2,Jun  4 2024,16:41:10
W (516) phy_init: saving new calibration data because of checksum failure, mode(0)
I (536) wifi:mode : sta (64:e8:33:7d:e8:c0)
I (536) wifi:enable tsf
I (536) main: WiFi STA initialized, connecting to SSID: Beeworking 2G
I (556) wifi:new:<2,0>, old:<1,0>, ap:<255,255>, sta:<2,0>, prof:1, snd_ch_cfg:0x0
I (556) wifi:state: init -> auth (0xb0)
I (566) wifi:state: auth -> assoc (0x0)
I (596) wifi:state: assoc -> run (0x10)
I (596) wifi:state: run -> init (0x2a0)
I (606) wifi:new:<2,0>, old:<2,0>, ap:<255,255>, sta:<2,0>, prof:1, snd_ch_cfg:0x0
I (606) main: Retrying WiFi connection (1/10)
I (3016) main: Retrying WiFi connection (2/10)
I (3016) wifi:new:<2,0>, old:<2,0>, ap:<255,255>, sta:<2,0>, prof:1, snd_ch_cfg:0x0
I (3026) wifi:state: init -> auth (0xb0)
I (3036) wifi:state: auth -> assoc (0x0)
I (3046) wifi:state: assoc -> run (0x10)
I (3106) wifi:connected with Beeworking 2G, aid = 46, channel 2, BW20, bssid = 78:17:be:f2:9c:70
I (3106) wifi:security: WPA2-PSK, phy: bgn, rssi: -47
I (3106) wifi:pm start, type: 1

I (3106) wifi:dp: 1, bi: 102400, li: 3, scale listen interval from 307200 us to 307200 us
I (3116) wifi:set rx beacon pti, rx_bcn_pti: 0, bcn_timeout: 25000, mt_pti: 0, mt_time: 10000
I (3186) wifi:AP's beacon interval = 102400 us, DTIM period = 1
--- To exit from IDF monitor please use "Ctrl+]". Alternatively, you can use Ctrl+T Ctrl+X to exit.
I (6306) esp_netif_handlers: sta ip: 192.168.100.190, mask: 255.255.255.0, gw: 192.168.100.1
I (6306) main: Got IP: 192.168.100.190
I (6306) main: Connected to WiFi
I (6306) stream_sender: UDP sender initialized: 192.168.100.102:5005
I (6316) csi_collector: Auto-detected AP channel: 2
I (6316) wifi:ic_enable_sniffer
I (6316) csi_collector: Promiscuous mode enabled for CSI capture
I (6326) csi_collector: CSI collection initialized (node_id=1, channel=2)
I (6336) edge_proc: Initializing edge processing (tier=2, top_k=8, vital_interval=1000ms, presence_thresh=0.000)
I (6346) edge_proc: Edge DSP task created on Core 1 (stack=8192, priority=5)
I (6346) edge_proc: Edge DSP task started on core 1 (tier=2)
I (6346) ota_update: OTA HTTP server started on port 8032
I (6356) ota_update:   GET  /ota/status — firmware version info
I (6366) ota_update:   POST /ota        — upload new firmware binary
W (6366) wasm_rt: WASM Tier 3 disabled (WASM3 not available)
I (6376) wasm_upload: WASM upload endpoints registered:
I (6376) wasm_upload:   POST   /wasm/upload    — upload .wasm binary
I (6386) wasm_upload:   GET    /wasm/list      — list modules
I (6396) wasm_upload:   POST   /wasm/start/:id — start module
I (6396) wasm_upload:   POST   /wasm/stop/:id  — stop module
I (6406) wasm_upload:   DELETE /wasm/:id       — unload module
I (6406) main: WASM on_timer() periodic: 1000 ms
I (6416) mmwave: Probing UART1 (TX=17, RX=18) for mmWave sensor...
I (6416) mmwave: Probing at 115200 baud (MR60BHA2)...
I (6476) csi_collector: CSI cb #1: len=384 rssi=-83 ch=2
I (6556) csi_collector: CSI cb #2: len=384 rssi=-82 ch=2
I (6556) csi_collector: CSI cb #3: len=384 rssi=-82 ch=2
I (7526) mmwave: Probing at 256000 baud (LD2410)...
I (8626) mmwave: No mmWave sensor detected on UART1
I (8626) main: No mmWave sensor detected (CSI-only mode)
I (8626) power_mgmt: Power management disabled (duty_cycle=100%)
I (8626) disp_task: Initializing display subsystem...
W (8626) disp_task: SPIRAM not enabled — using internal DMA memory (smaller buffers)
I (8636) disp_hal: Initializing Waveshare AMOLED 1.8" (SH8601 368x448)...
I (8646) disp_hal: I2C bus init OK (SDA=15, SCL=14)
W (8646) disp_hal: TCA9554 not found at 0x20: ESP_FAIL
W (8656) disp_hal: TCA9554 not found — assuming display power is always-on (direct wiring)
I (8666) disp_hal: QSPI panel IO created (40MHz, quad mode)
I (8816) disp_hal: Drawing test pattern...
I (8856) disp_hal: Test pattern drawn
I (8856) disp_hal: SH8601 panel init OK (368x448)
I (8856) disp_hal: Probing FT3168 touch controller...
I (8866) gpio: GPIO[21]| InputEn: 1| OutputEn: 0| OpenDrain: 0| Pullup: 1| Pulldown: 0| Intr:0 
W (8866) disp_hal: FT3168 not found (ret=ESP_FAIL, id=0x00)
I (8876) disp_task: LVGL buffers: 2x 7360 bytes (10 lines, internal DMA)
I (8886) disp_task: Display task started (Core 0, priority 1, 30 fps)
I (8886) main: CSI streaming active → 192.168.100.102:5005 (edge_tier=2, OTA=ready, WASM=ready, mmWave=off)
I (8896) disp_task: Display task running on Core 0, 30 fps limit
I (8936) disp_ui: UI created: 4 views (Dashboard|Vitals|Presence|System)
I (21916) csi_collector: CSI cb #100: len=128 rssi=-79 ch=2
I (46166) wifi:<ba-add>idx:0 (ifx:0, 78:17:be:f2:9c:70), tid:0, ssn:5, winSize:64
I (50466) csi_collector: CSI cb #200: len=128 rssi=-38 ch=2
I (63836) csi_collector: CSI cb #300: len=256 rssi=-84 ch=2
I (75036) csi_collector: CSI cb #400: len=128 rssi=-87 ch=2
I (95076) csi_collector: CSI cb #500: len=256 rssi=-84 ch=2
I (107156) csi_collector: CSI cb #600: len=256 rssi=-83 ch=2
I (113776) csi_collector: CSI cb #700: len=128 rssi=-34 ch=2
I (119696) csi_collector: CSI cb #800: len=256 rssi=-83 ch=2
I (131176) csi_collector: CSI cb #900: len=256 rssi=-85 ch=2
I (160576) csi_collector: CSI cb #1000: len=128 rssi=-38 ch=2

Running the Docker container for the project, this is what I get:

2026-03-27T16:34:21.950063Z  INFO sensing_server: WiFi-DensePose Sensing Server (Rust + Axum + RuVector)
2026-03-27T16:34:21.950110Z  INFO sensing_server:   HTTP:      http://localhost:3000
2026-03-27T16:34:21.950115Z  INFO sensing_server:   WebSocket: ws://localhost:3001/ws/sensing
2026-03-27T16:34:21.950116Z  INFO sensing_server:   UDP:       0.0.0.0:5005 (ESP32 CSI)
2026-03-27T16:34:21.950118Z  INFO sensing_server:   UI path:   /app/ui
2026-03-27T16:34:21.950276Z  INFO sensing_server:   Source:    esp32
2026-03-27T16:34:21.950291Z  INFO sensing_server: Data source: esp32
2026-03-27T16:34:21.950294Z  INFO sensing_server: Vital sign detector sample rate: 10.0 Hz
2026-03-27T16:34:21.952815Z  INFO sensing_server: Discovered 0 model files, 0 recording files
2026-03-27T16:34:21.953379Z  INFO sensing_server: UDP listening on 0.0.0.0:5005 for ESP32 CSI frames
2026-03-27T16:34:21.954079Z  INFO sensing_server: WebSocket server listening on 0.0.0.0:3001
2026-03-27T16:34:21.954704Z  INFO sensing_server: HTTP server listening on 0.0.0.0:3000
2026-03-27T16:34:21.954732Z  INFO sensing_server: Open http://localhost:3000/ui/index.html in your browser
2026-03-27T16:36:05.597095Z  INFO sensing_server: WebSocket client connected (sensing)
2026-03-27T16:36:05.733357Z  INFO sensing_server: WebSocket client connected (pose)

However, the UI doesn't present anything despite the fact that the hardware is sending CSI data over the network and the aggregator is detecting it (through cargo run -p wifi-densepose-hardware --bin aggregator -- --bind 0.0.0.0:5005 --verbose).

See below:

[ruvnet]

Fix Released in v0.5.1

The "no detection despite connected" issue has been fixed in v0.5.1-esp32 (PR #325).

Root Cause

ESP32 nodes running the edge DSP pipeline (Tier 2+) send vitals packets (magic 0xC5110002) rather than raw CSI frames. The sensing server was broadcasting these as edge_vitals messages but never generating a sensing_update — which is what the UI renders for person detection. So the UI showed "ESP32 hardware connected" (vitals arriving) but "0 persons detected" (no sensing_update with classification/pose data).

Fix

The server now synthesizes a full sensing_update from edge vitals data, including:

• Classification (absent/present_still/present_moving) derived from the vitals presence and motion flags
• Person count from the vitals n_persons field
• Pose skeleton generation via derive_pose_from_sensing
• Breathing animation from breathing_band_power (was 0.0, now 0.5 when present)
• Vital signs (HR/BR) forwarded from the edge packet

How to verify

Rebuild the sensing server from main:

cd rust-port/wifi-densepose-rs
cargo build --release -p wifi-densepose-sensing-server

Then start the server and connect your ESP32 — the UI should now show person detections when the ESP32 reports presence.

Validation

• Rust compilation: clean (17 pre-existing warnings only)
• Code review: all 7 checks passed (struct fields, empty amplitude safety, signal field safety, thread safety, tick correctness, type matching)
• QEMU CI: all 11 jobs green ✅