Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
See People Through Walls
An innovative system created at MIT will let you see people through concrete walls. The device is an ultrawideband (UWB) multiple-input, multiple-output phased-array sensor with real-time acquisition and processing capability; it provides video-like synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images of people moving behind a concrete wall.
The image quality is sufficiently high to resolve multiple humans behind a wall. Humans were located through the three types of wall tested when they were moving or standing still. Humans were located through the 4-inch concrete and cinder block wall even if they were sitting still or holding their breath while standing. Because humans move slightly even while trying to remain still, the radar system detected those small movements by using coherent radar processing techniques
At the core of the system is a range-gated continuous-wave radar architecture that provides dynamic range and sensitivity to acquire weak signals scattered from targets behind the wall. The radar set is connected to an array of UWB antenna elements consisting of two subarrays made up of 8 receive elements and 13 transmit elements. Microwave switches guide the transmitter port from the radar to one transmit element at a time. Similarly, microwave switches guide the receive port to one receive antenna at a time.
(Two humans about 30 feet down range)
(One of the through-wall experimental setups)
The radar system is located to the right and the cinder block wall is to the left. An absorber is mounted on the vertical reinforcement sections of the wall and clutter fences using a pyramidal absorber are mounted on the front of the wall to approximate the conditions of two-dimensional air-wall-air models. Plywood sheets on the ground allow the radar system to be easily moved around the target area. A Styrofoam "A-frame" holds the calibration target in front of the wall. When measurements are acquired, one or two humans walk around about 10 feet behind the wall.
I use some other sf devices as predecessors in the other stories; here's an amusing reference from a 1936 John W. Campbell story:
"They had the tube then. They called it the PTW tube - Probability Time Wave. They'd been trying to make a television set that would see through walls..."
(Read more)
This passage just goes to show that even seventy years ago, people were thinking about a device just like this one. Gordon Giles used a similar idea in his 1937 story Diamond Planetoid to see which planetoids where worth mining; take a look at the X-beam projector.
From MIT Lincoln Lab.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 10/18/2011)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Engineering ")
3D Printing A 12-Meter Boat Hull
'It makes drawings in the air...' - Murray Leinster, 1945
China Still Working On Rescue Robot That Eats People
Firefighter Rescue Robot Eats Humans - again!
Can One Robot Do Many Tasks?
'... with the Master-operator all you have to do is push one! A remarkable achievement!' - Robert Sheckley, 1952.
Roborock Saros Z70 Is A Robot Vacuum With An Arm
'Anything larger than a BB shot it picked up and placed in a tray...' - Robert Heinlein, 1956.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
The New Habitable Zones Include Asimov's Ribbon Worlds
'...there's a narrow belt where the climate is moderate.'
3D Printing A 12-Meter Boat Hull
'It makes drawings in the air...'
China Still Working On Rescue Robot That Eats People
Firefighter Rescue Robot Eats Humans - again!
Lawyer AIs Create Chaos In Our Legal System
'I want my lawyer program.'
Chinese Hospital Tries Vonnegut's 'Harrison Bergeron' Cosplay
'He wore spectacles with thick wavy lenses. The spectacles were intended to make him not only half
blind, but to give him whanging headaches besides.'
Robot Clerks Become A Reality In China
'The robot clerk in the waiting-room checked her number...'
Can One Robot Do Many Tasks?
'... with the Master-operator all you have to do is push one! A remarkable achievement!'
Atlas Robot Makes Uncomfortable Movements
'Not like me. A T-1000, advanced prototype. A mimetic poly-alloy. Liquid metal.'
Boring Company Drills Asimov's Single Vehicle Tunnels
'It was riddled with holes that were the mouths of tunnels.'
Humanoid Robots Tickle The Ivories
'The massive feet working the pedals, arms and hands flashing and glinting...'
A Remarkable Coincidence
'There is a philosophical problem of some difficulty here...'
Cortex 1 - Today A Warehouse, Tomorrow A Calculator Planet
'There were cubic miles of it, and it glistened like a silvery Christmas tree...'
Perching Ambush Drones
'On the chest of drawers something was perched.'
Leader-Follower Autonomous Vehicle Technology
'Jason had been guiding the caravan of cars as usual...'
Golf Ball Test Robot Wears Them Out
"The robot solemnly hit a ball against the wall, picked it up and teed it, hit it again, over and again...'
Boring Company Vegas Loop Like Asimov Said
'There was a wall ahead... It was riddled with holes that were the mouths of tunnels.'
