High-performance holographic camera comes out

According to the British Daily Mail website reported on November 19th, a holographic camera that can see through almost anything has been developed.

It is reported that a high-performance holographic camera has been developed, which can see through almost anything, including corners, fog and even human muscles and bones.

This device, developed by researchers at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, uses a technique called synthetic wavelength holography.

the working principle of this technology is to indirectly scatter light to hidden objects, which are then scattered again and returned to the camera, and the artificial intelligence in the camera is used to reconstruct the image of the original object.

The research team said that this technology is still 1 years away from commercialization, but by then it will be used in automobiles, closed-circuit television systems and even as a medical scanner. One example may be to replace endoscope in colonoscopy and observe the internal folds of intestine by collecting light waves.

this is a relatively new research field called "non-line-of-sight" (NLOS) imaging, which can quickly capture a full-field image of a large area.

its imaging accuracy reaches sub-millimeter level. With this resolution, a camera with artificial intelligence can photograph things under the skin and even the working condition of the thinnest capillaries.

when the light is scattered on the hidden object and scattered back to the camera again, an algorithm will reconstruct these scattered light signals.

because of its high resolution, this method may also be used to image fast-moving objects, such as a beating heart in the chest or a speeding car in the street.

The report points out that this method not only has obvious potential in non-invasive medical imaging, but also has a wide application prospect, including the establishment of automobile early warning navigation system and industrial inspection in closed space.

However, researchers believe that its potential application will be unlimited.

The report also said that florian Velomitzer, the first author of the paper, said: "Our technology will bring a new wave of imaging capabilities."

Previous attempts to obtain images of hidden objects using "non-line-of-sight" imaging technology have encountered problems such as low resolution and narrow viewing angle range. Other problems encountered before include that the scanning device takes a long time or requires a large detection area to measure scattered light.

this new technology overcomes the above problems, and can realize the imaging of penetrating corners, skin and other metal media with higher resolution.

it combines high spatial resolution, high instantaneous resolution, small detection area and large angle of view. This means that this camera can image micro-components in a closed space and hidden objects in a large area with higher resolution.

It is reported that when the target object moves, such as another car at the corner that is invisible to the naked eye, it can still image it.

because light can only travel in a straight line, there must be some opaque barrier, such as a wall, a bush or a car, in order for this new device to see things on the other side of the corner.

the light emitted by the sensor unit bounces back after hitting the barrier, and then hits the object on the other side of the corner. Then, the light returns to the barrier and finally reflects into the detector of the sensor unit.

"It's as if we can install a virtual computing camera on every remote surface, so that we can observe the world from the perspective of those surfaces," said Velomitzer.

He said that "this technology turns walls into mirrors", adding that "not only that, this technology can also work at night and in foggy weather".

researchers say that this technology can be used to replace or supplement the endoscopes used in medical and industrial imaging, such as using light to carefully observe the folds in the intestine, instead of sending colonoscopy into the body. It can also image the inside of large industrial equipment, such as turbines in power plants, while it is working, thus reducing the interruption of operation.

The report also said that the camera is still a prototype, and it will take up to 1 years to become a commercial product, partly because it takes time to obtain medical approval.

Related papers were published in the British journal Nature Communication on 17th.