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Camera Can See Through Clothes at 80 Feet

by Terrence O'Brien on March 10, 2008 at 03:10 PM

Camera Can See Through Clothes at 80 FeetWe're sure you remember being eight years old and wishing you had X-ray vision or X-ray glasses so that you could see through peoples clothes. Then you found out that X-rays would just let you see bone, and not breasts. It turns out we were using the wrong rays.

T-rays, or terahertz radiation, are a form of electro-magnetic radiation given off in low levels by all people and objects. The technology behind the ThruVision camera was originally developed for peering through dusts and clouds in space. But researchers soon discovered you could also peek through clothes with the technology, opening up all sorts of security-use possibilities.

But don't get too scared, the camera doesn't reveal anatomic details. Instead, explosives, weapons and drugs will appear as shapes against a person's silhouette. The camera is able to detect T-waves at up to 80 feet away, and doesn't emit harmful radiation like an X-ray camera does.

Expect these devices to become common place in airports, train stations, and at sporting events in the near future.

From The BBC and The Times Online

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Tags: security, surveillance, T-Waves, thruvision

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