Superman has it, and nearly everyone has probably had a time when they wanted it, too. X-Ray vision. Who wouldn’t want that for Christmas? The ability to see through walls. It’s something that has been reserved for fantasies and science fiction, until now. Researchers at MIT have found a way to use variations in radio signals–like wifi–to detect people through walls and track their movements in other rooms.
Metal Gear Solid radar, as provided by the jjennings3 blog.
So far, there seems to be two major components of their X-Ray vision software. The first is an imaging program that can make out what are–for now–very basic human silhouettes: heads, torsos and maybe hands and feet. The other is a simpler tool that can only–again, for now–portray a body as a red dot in another room. But it can do so just as accurately, detecting that person’s elevation in the room, their heart rate and even whether they’re breathing. So picture every radar or minimap in a video game that detects nearby enemies, and then consider how real that may be soon.
The researchers say that the X-Ray vision technology is being developed for two applications: for families and healthcare providers to be able to keep a closer, remote eye on the well-being of the young, elderly or sick, and for law enforcement and the military in hostile situations. The software would serve particularly well in hostage encounters, where keeping track of both hostiles and friendlies is deadly important.
The researchers are looking to market the X-Ray vision technology as early as 2017. While it makes sense as a healthcare option, I wouldn’t be surprised if law enforcement and the military jumped on this opportunity.
Would you? Let us know what you would do with X-Ray vision in the comments below.
Source: Huffington Post