Futuristic Fibers Could Replace Camera Lenses

We will soon not need the glass lenses in our cameras and it will be possible to take 360 degree photos with even the clothes that we wear. This is a watershed discovery and it has many civil as well as military applications. This is the way to go - Nanotechnology

Picture a wall that stares back at you. Or a uniform that shows a soldier a 360-degree view of the battlefield. Both scenarios are possible courtesy of a new generation of flexible, translucent fibers developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge. These so-called multimaterial fibers can turn incoming light waves into images without the need for a camera lens. And unlike fiber optic cables, they can transmit images that have been captured across their entire length.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/034128f27af0.jpg[/atsimg]

Current cameras rely on lenses to produce a recognizable image. The curved glass or plastic of a lens focuses light waves reflected off an object onto a surface that can display the resulting images, either film or, in the case of digital cameras, charged-coupled devices. The idea has worked well for decades, but it's always contained an Achilles' heel: Damage the lens, and you lose or diminish the ability to see.

Source: sciencenow.sciencemag.org...


[edit on 14-7-2009 by sunny_2008ny]

This is definitely something to help fuel my paranoia. The concept is really quite scary when you think about it. Though improbable, imagine a world where such technology was in all clothing allowing the government to truly have an all-seeing eye of sorts.

Even if its unlikely, the idea frightens me.