Tech - Superman-like vision may soon be a reality

London, Jan 27 (ANI): Your dream of having a Superman-like vision may soon be a reality, thanks to researchers who are working on developing X ray specs that would help you to see through solid walls, and even sense tiny motions like breathing, or even a beating heart.

In 2006, British engineers at Cambridge Consultants had announced the development of briefcase-sized system called the Prism 200, which can detect people through a brick wall, by firing off pulses of ultrawide-band radar and listening for returning echoes.

Unlike light, radio waves can pass through solid materials. According to the scientists the pulses from ultrawide-band radar can pass through building materials over 40 centimetres thick, and can identify the activity up to 15 metres, reports New Scientist.

However, it has a drawback. The radar is designed to only detect objects when they move.

In another breakthrough to achieve X ray vision, scientists led by Erwin Biebl at the Technical University of Munich in Germany have developed a radar sensor that can pick up tiny motions like breathing, or even a beating heart, through a closed door.

Research suggest that radio waves between 433 megahertz and 24 gigahertz can pass through skin and bone but are partly reflected by the fatty layer surrounding muscles such as the heart.

With help of the Doppler effect, the researchers were able to pick even the sub-centimetre changes in movement caused by a beating heart or the motion of the lungs. (ANI)