An iPhone with X-Ray Vision? Maybe!

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The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a professional organization dedicated to advancing innovation and technological excellence for the benefit of humanity. It has over 420,000 members across 160 countries.
Earlier this year, a study jointly funded by Texas Instruments and Samsung was published in the IEEE’s extensive library of technical research. This study revealed the development of a chip that would allow a device, like a smartphone, to see through solid objects.
The full title of the study is a mouthful, but we can help translate it.
Array of 296-GHz CMOS Concurrent Transceiver Pixels With Phase and Amplitude Extraction Circuits for Improving Reflection-Mode Imaging Resolution
The authors of the study used a combination of technologies in a 1×3 array to demonstrate “lens-less short-range reflection mode imaging of a target ~1 cm away through a cardboard covering.”
Short-range reflection mode is typically used in radar and lidar systems designed for detecting and analyzing objects at relatively short distances. It is also used in applications that require high resolution and precision at close proximity.
In everyday terms, this is the same kind of technology used in newer model cars for parking assistance, blind spot detection, and collision avoidance.
The technology doesn’t use X-rays given the potential harm to the human body, but instead uses signals of 200 to 400 gigahertz. Tests were able to produce images through fog, dust, and other airborne particles that typically don’t allow light to pass through. The study also indicates that the combination of technologies, including metal oxide semiconductor technology, is common to most consumer electronic devices, suggesting the emerging viability and affordability of a commercialized product.
While the technology is unlikely to appear in your iPhone any time soon, much like AI, it seems this concept is no longer relegated to science fiction. Before we know it, we could be using our iPhones to see through packaging and other solid objects. Time will tell if Samsung’s funding of this research means the tech will be limited to Samsung devices.