Using
ultra-fast imaging and "echoes of light," researchers have
developed an innovative camera that
takes pictures outside
of traditional line of sight.
Short
bursts of light that reflect off of different objects is key
for researchers at MIT.
They've named the process "Femto-Photography. It exploits
the finite speed of light and it is part of what they call the
"femtosecond transient imaging system."
Applying
a femtosecond laser, short pulses of light bounce around off of one
object and on to another before reflecting back onto the original
object where it is then captured by the camera. The bursts of
light last for one quadrillionth of a second. Algorithms then
reconstruct what is hidden.
According to MIT Professor Ramesh
Raskar, the camera creates a "3D time-image" of the unseen
image, by continuously
gathering light and computing the time and distance that
each pixel has traveled.
"It’s like having x-ray vision
without the x-rays," Raskar said. "We’re going around the
problem rather than going through it."
The research
is still
in the early stages of development but potential
applications could include search and rescue, medical imaging,
industrial building inspection and traffic collision
prevention.
"You could generate a map before you go
into a dangerous place like a building fire, or a robotic car could
use the system to compute the path it should take around a corner
before it takes it."
The researchers foresee a
portable imaging system available within the next two
years.
MIT's Femtosecond
Transient Imaging Report (PDF) by Ahmed Kirmani offers more
project information.
