Seeing silhouettes through walls and tracking people's movements are abilities that are seen in fictional characters like Superman. Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a way to use radio signals to accomplish these feats so they won't be the stuff of science fiction anymore.
The software is currently being touted as the future of X-ray vision and has potential use in law enforcement, as well as in average homes as camera-less security monitors. It can also aid families in supervising toddlers and the elderly.
According to Dina Katabi, the lead researcher of the project since 2012, they wanted to develop a device that could track a person's movements in another room in real time using radio signals.
Although a similar X-ray vision device had already been developed in the past in Scotland, scientists used lasers to see through walls rather than wireless signals.
Reports say that applications for the device are plentiful. Law enforcement, for example, can use it to assess the location of a gunman or person of interest in a room without putting an officer in danger by going inside blind. Caregivers can also use the device to keep track of children or seniors in another room and can be alerted via an alarm, SMS or email if an elderly suffers a bad fall.
A new company, currently called Emerald, has been set up to market the technology developed by the MIT research team. Katabi says they want to make the device smaller and more user-friendly – even configurable via a smartphone app.
The device will be made into a wearable visor and the developers hope to make it available by 2017 for about $250 to $300.
Some observers are wary of the potential security and privacy issues that an affordable X-ray vision device could pose to the public. However, the MIT research team says they looked into that threat and says there is minimal risk to worry about.
"Think of it this way: Your cellphone already has wireless signals that can traverse walls, but how many people can use these signals to actually see through walls? The reason people can't do that is that the user interface does not expose this information," said Zach Kabelac another researcher on Katabi's team.
