With this technology you can see through the walls

Seeing through the walls as Superman has always been a science fiction thing. But it is already a reality. At least, in the laboratory of the prestigious MIT (Mbadachusetts Institute of Technology), in the United States

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A group of scientists developed software that can identify with great precision if someone is from On the other side of an opaque wall and how

The team, led by researcher Dina Katabi, of MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), created an artificial intelligence-based system able to identify and recreate human movements

But how does it work and how to make sure it's not used to spy on others?

The Power of the Radio Frequency

Specialists gave the name of the RF-Pose software and the technology that governs it RF-Capture, because it uses radiofrequency waves ( RF)

" We use a camera and we take pictures of people in one place, and emit a signal C is the radio." Katabi says.

Little by little, computer scientists taught the machine how to "see" using several examples to identify people. Thus, the neural network can badyze the signals and generate a 3D skeletal figure that walks, feels, runs, dances or gestures like a human, imitating the movements that the person is doing at that time.

MIT expects that in a few years this software will help doctors identify the warning signs of diseases such as Parkinson's Disease Multiple Sclerosis or Muscular Dystrophy, particularly in the elderly.

The idea is to better understand the progression of these ailments that affect the movement of the body, but also help older people to have more independence. In fact, MIT ensures that its team is currently working with physicians to begin applying the system in the field of medicine.

Technology is able to effectively identify a person in a row of 100 people in 83% of cases

" You do not see details of the face or fingers, but you can get an idea of ​​the size and width of the person " counted Fadel Adib, another" In the future, we will be able to see through the walls even in high definition ", has he added. "And probably also through the bodies of people who use wireless signals."

Developing it was not easy: It took more than a decade to collect thousands of images of people on the move.

The system creates what is known as "heat images " and converts them into figures that move in space, identifying different parts of the body and showing the movements of the body. A natural way.

of medicine, the system could be used in the field of video games, entertainment or security. But it could also have malicious applications or ethical dilemmas.

Only with the consent

One of the main points to make it work was to protect the privacy of users

. ] If someone wants to use this technology to monitor someone without their consent, we have a test that allows the device to check if the person has given consent " Katabi explains. " " Having separated any identifiable information and we encrypt it." "There must be policies that regulate the way technology is used."

Will these be the first steps of a technology that will be ubiquitous in a few years?

: BBC

Photographic Source: BBC