Modern cameras cannot see through fog, in the dark, or through walls, making the development of driverless vehicles or better search and rescue equipment difficult. Where visible light fails, radio waves can easily penetrate these obstructions; but, radar imaging devices are complex, low resolution, and unable to image certain geometries and angled surfaces. To address this, the Media Lab’s Camera Culture group has taken a camera-like approach to microwave imaging, resulting in a simpler camera architecture that can capture fuller 3D images through walls.
Where visible light has a wavelength between 390nm and 700nm, the Camera Culture camera sees between 2.5cm and 4cm (much larger). While classical radar imaging devices can perform these tasks, they do so with highly complex systems that are out of the reach of the consumer.
This new radar imaging architecture makes imaging at long wavelengths more accessible, while enabling higher resolution imaging; keeping all electronics in a small 10” x 10” space; requiring fewer detectors; providing better detection of mirror-like surfaces; and providing both multispectral and time-resolved imaging (capturing microwaves in flight).
