Here’s one to the wannabe-007’s. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institue of Techonolgy have come up with a fabric made of a “mesh of light-sensitive fibers”, that, collectively, act like a very basic camera. Those fibers can detect two frequencies of light which can be “forwarded” to, and processed by, a computer.
Yoel Fink, an associate professor of materials science, says “This is the first time that anybody has demonstrated that a single plane of fibers, or ‘fabric’, can collect images just like a camera but without a lens.” Yoel Fink described the approach in his Nano Letters journal.
What’s it good for?
MIT suggests that the technology, if developed further, could give a soldier a uniform that would help him see threats in all directions. Also, optical fiber webs that stretches across a large area, would be less vulnerable to damage in one area.
If you’re one of those people bringing your cellphone camera into the locker room only to take pictures, please stay away from this technology – thank you. Everybody else, enjoy!