It's no secret that Wi-Fi has had an overarching impact on our lives over the years. Endless possibilities of the web are just on a click away from us. Just in a matter of seconds, we are able to access the information and connect with each other faster than we have ever could.
However, just when we thought that we extracted all the possibilities of the Wi-Fi, scientists have found a way to surprise us. Apparently, there is more to wireless networking than meets the eye.
A recent research conducted by scientists at the Technical University of Munich suggests that it is possible to take a photograph through walls using nothing but a wireless transmission system. And with this staggering revelation, goes the conclusion that we are just beginning to scratch the surface of the mystery that is Wi-Fi.
This isn't a science fiction anymore nor it is the scene from some high espionage blockbuster but a sheer reality. Wi-Fi is everywhere - and so are the electromagnetic waves emitted by the routers in order to connect us to the Internet. These are the waves that are traveling through space, so the idea of them traveling through walls isn't too far fetched.
With that in mind, the German team of scientists has found a way to make another use of Wi-Fi signals. The idea was to create 3D holographic photos of the objects inside a room or a building even with walls as the barriers.
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Philipp Holl, a 23-year old student of physics conducted an experiment under the watchful eye of his supervisor Friedemann Reinhard. They dwell on the idea that devices with an electromagnetic signal such as mobile phones and other wireless devices are acting as light bulbs and are able to create an image that depends on 2 antennas. The first one, fixed, scanning and mapping a background of Wi-Fi field and the other that is recording the signal from various points.
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Once both antennas collect the data about the image, 3D views of the objects are being inserted into the system and the holographic map is created.
According to Holl and Reinhard the more antennas, we use the more likely it is to get a clearer picture.
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Although using Wi-Fi for this purpose is not an entirely new concept, this is the first time that it is being used for creating larger 3D models of space.
For now, the system is not precise enough to determine all the details of the objects- but it works if you only want to identify shapes within a space.
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There is no doubt that taking a photograph through walls jeopardizes our privacy, but that is not exactly what the scientists had in mind when conducting the experiment.
It can, after all, be used for good. Rescuing people trapped in the buildings and tracking down materials in factories are just some of the examples of the noble use of this newly acquired knowledge.
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