Will Cell Phones Be able to See Through Walls? New research says YES!

[Liber-AL]

It looks like Superman’s X-Ray vision might not just be for Superman anymore.

Thanks to new research coming out of the University of Texas at Dallas, we may be able to channel one of Clark Kent’s famed superpowers by using our cell phones to see through walls.

A team at the University of Texas at Dallas, led by Professor of Electrical Engineering Dr. Kenneth O, has tapped into two significant scientific advances that could open up this new technology. The first is an unused range in the electromagnetic spectrum, and the second is a new kind of consumer-grade microchip.

The electromagnetic spectrum characterizes wavelengths of energy and measures all ranges of light. Dr. O’s research is using the terahertz band, which has previously been inaccessible for most consumer devices. The band lies between microwave and infrared rays and can allow devices to “penetrate” through objects in a way similar to X-rays.

When signals on the terahertz band travel from your phone, they’ll bounce back — and that’s when the microchip comes in. The chips are manufactured using CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) technology, which is the basis of most of the electronic devices around you. A censor in the chip will pick up terahertz signals and then images can be created.

http://mashable.com/2012/04/18/cell-phones-see-through-walls/

[Cooley Hurd]

1. I can see where this would be abused...

[bemildred]

2. If I have it right, sort of like radar, but presumably with better resolution.

Could have a lot of interesting possibilities, not all of them rude.

[Liber-AL]

3. This stuff ought to be top secret!

I'm surprised the government hasn't confiscated it and adopted it for strictly military purposes.

As an aside, I noticed that the engineers are only going to allow the commercial models to focus up to 4 inches.

Hahaha! The police models will probably be far more invasive. And, I betcha that as soon as the technology goes on sale, there will a whole lot of reverse engineering going on to copy and modify these devices to make them even more powerful for the average consumer. If these things become as popular as the ipad, I guess a new type of clothing will have to be invented: made of a type of material that is resistant to unwanted oogling

[Bill USA]

7. dry wall with a layer of metal foil would 'foil' the electronic peeping toms pretty well, I should

think.

Or if you want to go beyond passive defense to something more sophisticated, you could have a receiver which, when it picked up a terahertz transmission, it would send back a terahertz transmission (of the same frequency) to 'jam' the reception of any reflected signals.

in the manner of:

Spock: "We're being scanned Capt."
Kirk: "Dammit Spock, jam the bastards reflected transmission."
Spock: "Affirmative Capt. Capt. how did you know the Interlopians we're illigitmately conceived?"
Kirk: "Huh?....Dammit, not now Spock. Now hit the remote remote-controller and change the station to American Idol. It's a lot safer over there."

[saras]

4. I can't, in all honesty, think of any "legitimate" applications

There might be some obscure industrial process that is better examined at this frequency of EM radiation.

But in the "real world", the whole purpose of walls is to not be seen through.

Unless we abandon all constitutional protections entirely, I can't even imagine someone HAVING one of these and not breaking laws left and right, whether they intend to or not.

[bemildred]

5. Medicine comes to mind immediately.

I would much rather have my insides inspected with low-energy sub-IR radiation than X-Rays.

[felix_numinous]

6. Oh this isn't

creepy at all.