New Military Technology Can “See” Through Walls
Military? How long before our nosy civilian neighbors have one?Xaver 1000TM, a new gadget from Israel-based imaging specialist firm Camero, doesn’t provide a video of what’s going on behind the wall; it detects and pinpoints evidence of activity:
The technology can display live objects, behind walls, in such high resolution that it can detect whether a person is sitting, standing, or lying down, even if they have been motionless for a significant period. Specific body parts are also detectable, the company said.
Operating it is easy and requires minimal training, Shephard Media reported, and it only requires a single user to make use of a simple interface on an embedded 10.1-inch touchscreen display.
It can penetrate through most common building materials, Camero-Tech said.
Joshua Zitser, “New Israeli military technology allows operators to ‘see through walls’” at Business Insider (Jun 26, 2022)
From ITV News earlier this year:
It’s hard to imagine that, if this works, it won’t be widely used by non-military snoops — all the more so because, while national defense, police, and security organizations will develop technologies to frustrate Xaver and its knockoffs, private citizens will need to weigh the costs and benefits. But it’s here and we must hope it does more good than harm.
This year, we also noted the progress in invisibility tech: An “invisibility shield” which offers near invisibility, is now being marketed. The basic technique is to refract light from the background of the subject toward the observer, creating an opaque space where the observer would otherwise be seen.
As it happens, the invisibility shield won’t be much use against the Xaver-1000TM technology because the shield depends on manipulating light, which the “see through walls” technology doesn’t depend on.
Many things that used to be science fiction are proving possible through new technology. We must hope that the things we care about are enhanced rather than endangered. 😉
Note: The feature photo is courtesy Pete Willis on Unsplash.
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