New Laser Cameras Will See Around Corners

American scientists have developed a camera that can see around corners and view objects otherwise obscured from view. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have overcome a major obstacle in optics and image processing by using a technological trick, The Guardian reports. They are now able to build up images from light waves that are scattered off surfaces in every direction. Ramesh Raska and colleagues bounced super-fast pulses of laser light off walls towards the hidden object. Some of the light reached the object and was reflected back, scattered by the wall again before finally reaching the camera.

The scientists recorded the return time of the scattered light so they could then fire off more laser pulses, changing the angle to get a more complete image of the hidden object. The camera, which takes a shot every two trillionths of a second, recorded the results, allowing scientists to reconstruct 3D images of the object. The new technology may be developed into equipment which can inspect components deep inside machines or to spot people in hiding.