MIT Scientists Develop ‘X-Ray Vision’ Headset That Lets You See Through Objects

X-ray vision may not remain fiction for long, considering how a team of scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have modified an augmented-reality headset to allow users to view hidden objects.

According to the institute, the ‘X-AR’ headset—which is a customized iteration of a Microsoft Hololens—combines computer vision and wireless perception to help wearers automatically locate an item that our eyes can’t typically detect from view, such as stored away inside a box.

Instead of actual X-ray waves, the machine makes use of radio frequency (RF) signals, which are known to pass through commonplace materials including cardboard, plastic, and wood, to locate and guide an individual to retrieve the hidden item.

Naturally, unlike the laser vision depicted in superhero novels, there’s a catch. This system only works if the hidden objects are already labeled with RFID tags, as these allow the elusive items to reflect the signals sent by the RF antenna on the headset.

On the AR interface, users will see a transparent sphere as they approach the object they’re looking for, so they know exactly which direction to head towards. Even better, the system will verify that they’ve picked up the correct item once it’s in their hands.

Impressively, scientists found that the X-AR could detect a hidden items to within 9.8 centimeters (3.8 inches) of its actual position, and correctly identified the object that was picked up with an amazing 96% accuracy rate.

In the real world, the team believes the technology could be used in e-commerce warehouses, allowing for workers to quickly identified sales items that may be stacked in boxes or obscured from view, and could also help technicians quickly locate correct parts on the assembly line.

“Our whole goal with this project was to build an augmented reality system that allows you to see things that are invisible—things that are in boxes or around corners—and in doing so, it can guide you toward them and truly allow you to see the physical world in ways that were not possible before,” concluded Associate Professor Fadel Adib.

[via Futurism and MIT News, cover image courtesy of the researchers, edited by MIT News (for press use / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)]