A team of researchers from Northwester University (USA) has developed a new high-resolution camera that works by indirectly scattering coherent light onto hidden objects , which then scatters again and travels back to a camera, obtaining a reconstruction of "invisible" or hidden objects.
"It is as if we could place a virtual computer camera on each remote surface to see the world from the perspective of the surface, " explained Florian Willomitzer, author of the study. "This technique turns the walls into mirrors."
They work, in extremely simplified terms, using a kind of visual sonar : they send out a pulse of light and measure how much it has changed by the time it returns.
Although experts are clear that "there is still a long way to go" before this technology appears in our day to day, they are sure that "that day will come." Its applications are very varied: from driving, through medical imaging to radio waves for space exploration or the acquisition of acoustic images under water.
Reference: Willomitzer, F., Rangarajan, PV, Li, F. et al. Fast non-line-of-sight imaging with high-resolution and wide field of view using synthetic wavelength holography. Nat Commun 12, 6647 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26776-w
