See through smoke and around corners

If you want to know if he can see your robot through smoke, well, you will need some smoke.

But Pennsylvania University student was shocked when they started preparing an experience late at night to test such a robot.

Shortly after the switch on the smoke machine, the loud fire alarm was launched.

“The entire building has been operated,” says Menghamin Zhao of the University of Pennsylvania, smiling. “My student called me. He was very surprised.”

The accident was a simple setback for the team that develops a robot equipped with an innovative radio sensor.

Radio waves can allow robots or independent compounds to see thick smoke or intense rain – or even around the corners. Such waves can discover hidden weapons.

But visual images simulator on the basis of radio waves is an unusual approach to robots and independent compounds. More more in these fields are regular optical cameras, light detection and range (LIDAR), and other sensors.

However, Professor Zhao and his students have developed a potential strong method of robots to find out the use of radio waves.

Of course, the radar, which uses radio waves, was used for decades to track aircraft, ships and weather.

But the yarn is on Professor Zhao Robot Radio waves throw in all directions.

The AI ​​on the plane creates a 3D display of the environment with this information.

Professor Zhao explains: “What we were trying to do here is basically to help robots obtain a supernatural vision – to know the scenarios in which human eyes or traditional optical sensors cannot.”

It suggests that technology can help in the future search and rescue robot to save people from a burning building.

Subsequent tests of the robot used a clear plastic box full of smoke on yarn equipment, in order to avoid operating any nearby fire warnings.

Although humans cannot see them, radio waves are a form of light in the sense that they are part of the electromagnetic spectrum, which also includes X -rays and gamma rays. Only a small part The spectrum is classified as visible light.

Being light, radio waves can reflect surfaces and materials, although in a slightly different way of visible light. Professor Zhao and his colleagues designed their robot so that he could feel that Radio wave repercussions.

The decisive factor here is that radio waves are much longer than visible light waves, which means that they are not blocked by small smoke molecules.

Professor Zhao says it also works to adapt technology so that the robot can see part of the road around the corner. Think about it like the mirror hall, as suggested, only for radio waves instead of visible light.

“It is a very interesting and very impressive work,” says Friedman Rinhard, of the University of Rostock in Germany, who has not participated in the work. In 2017, Professor Reinhard and his colleagues described how Wi-Fi signs could allow spies To see private rooms.

One of the slight restrictions is that the spinning bench cannot, by definition, can see in all directions simultaneously. Professor Renhard says that a lot of processing data implemented appears to be necessary to clean the image produced by this spinning device.

However, the robot sends radio waves in the range of the wave (millimeter) (waves ranging from one and ten millimeters). This is the same technology used for some 5G installation operations.

“This is very attractive,” says Professor Reinhard. “It is a good and cheap technique.” “Certainly I would like to see a self -driving car only driven on the radar.”

Fabio da Silva, founder and CEO of the American company WavSens, who is also developing radio -based sensor technology, says it is possible to avoid the use of spinning radio emissions to get a full image.

He says: “We have created an algorithm that allows you to feel the entire space immediately and continuously so that we do not have to rotate our antennas.”

The system describes as closer to the echo location, which the bats use. He sends radio waves and “listens” to how the waves return, which reveals the shape of everything that struck it.

Some researchers used radio waves for Discover hidden weapons Like hidden pistols and knives.

Radio waves can even “fingerprint” the room details. Then, if it is scanned again later, this would reveal whether any objects have been transferred in the room.

Last year, Scientists in Germany He suggested that countries use this method to audit the administration of other countries in nuclear weapons stocks. It will be one of the ways to see if someone transports warheads, for example.

Separately, explore Luana Olivieri at LoughBorough using a different form of invisible electromagnetic radiation, terartz waves. These are shorter than radio waves but longer than visible light waves. “This wavelength is not particularly exposed,” says Dr. Oliviri.

She adds that it is possible to see objects and analyze materials using this model of radiation. Such a system can be determined, in theory, specific drugs by discovering a chemical structure.

But at a time when vision through the rescue robot material can help find a person trapped in some future disasters, it also contains other applications. Police and armies can reach Radio -based technology This allows them to see doors and walls, to some extent.

“The wrestling of the war is definitely one market it meets. It can be used to find someone,” says Mr. Da Silva. It has shown WavSens for the US Department of Defense and the Israeli Ministry of Defense.

However, these applications are not completely surprising, as Professor Rinhard indicates, which indicates that a group of emerging technologies, in principle, made it easy to discover and attack people.

“The radar may look scary – but drones and cheap cameras are the most dangerous thing,” he says.