Program allows ordinary digital camera to see around corners

In a demonstration of “computational periscopy” a US team at Boston University showed they could see details of objects hidden from view by analysing shadows they cast on a nearby wall.

Vivek Goyal, an electrical engineer at the university, said that while the work had clear implications for surveillance he hoped it would lead to robots that could navigate better and boost the safety of driverless cars.

Program allows ordinary digital camera to see around corners

I am sure there will be an app for that soon. This could be very useful in may ways, but like all tech it will be misused and abused. It turns out you may not even need an app.

Given the relative simplicity of the program and equipment, Goyal believes it could be possible for humans to learn the same trick. In a draft blog written for Nature, he said: “It is even conceivable for humans to be able to learn to see around corners with their own eyes; it does not require anything superhuman.”

originally posted by: LookingAtMars

In a demonstration of “computational periscopy” a US team at Boston University showed they could see details of objects hidden from view by analysing shadows they cast on a nearby wall.

Vivek Goyal, an electrical engineer at the university, said that while the work had clear implications for surveillance he hoped it would lead to robots that could navigate better and boost the safety of driverless cars.

Program allows ordinary digital camera to see around corners

I am sure there will be an app for that soon. This could be very useful in may ways, but like all tech it will be misused and abused. It turns out you may not even need an app.

Given the relative simplicity of the program and equipment, Goyal believes it could be possible for humans to learn the same trick. In a draft blog written for Nature, he said: “It is even conceivable for humans to be able to learn to see around corners with their own eyes; it does not require anything superhuman.”

This allows it to see shadows and make judgments based on those shadows. It doesn't see around corners per se.

a reply to: sligtlyskeptical

That is even better, see around corners and other places without being seen. Like the quote I put in the OP says:

see details of objects hidden from view

You mean you can't tell the shape of shadows around corners? I thought that was a normal ability...

Are you saying that someone wouldn't recognize something such as the shadow of a tree that is around the corner of a building?

a reply to: RealityIsAbsurdx

It is not talking about well defined shadows like you get from the Sun behind a tree.

The researchers, writing in the journal Nature, describe how they pieced together hidden scenes by pointing the digital camera at the vague shadows they cast on a nearby wall. If the wall had been a mirror the task would have been easy, but a matt wall scatters light in all directions, so the reflected image is nothing but a blur. Goyal said: “In essence, computation can turn a matt wall into a mirror.”

a reply to: LookingAtMars

detecting opfor round corners - without been seen - has been a staple of FIBUA [ CQB ] training - since day one

a reply to: LookingAtMars

Sure an algorithm/computer program whatever you want to call it could make quick work of that, but like the article said it wouldn't be hard for most people to do the same.

Shadows can cast pretty good defined images if conditions are right.
I can see it being useful for motion detection, and determine what is moving. Still a fairly specific case use, but something most people don't consider.

Combined with being able to hear with a camera using the subtle vibrations of objects in close proximity, even through sound proof glass, the 'out of the box' thinking technology is getting quite interesting.

I have a program that uses a typical webcam that can tell you your heart rate just by focusing on your forehead. Detects the subtle variations in the skin caused by blood flow.

Can't wait for the AI robots to come to fruition, with their beady little ccd sensors detecting our heart rates, see us around corners and hear us in sound proof rooms.