Hey all,
The dawning of a new age is upon us. BBC News has recently reported that a camera has been invented which will be able to “see” through people’s clothing and can view drugs, explosives, and weapons from up to 25 metres away. The possibilities for this technology are endless, but I will let you read for yourselves from this excerpt:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7287135.stm
The ThruVision system could be deployed at airports, railway stations or other public spaces. It is based on so-called “terahertz”, or T-ray, technology, normally used by astronomers to study dying stars. Although it is able to see through clothes it does not reveal “body detail” or subject people to “harmful radiation”, according to the designers. “It is totally and utterly passive – it receives only,” said a spokesperson for Thruvision. The portable camera, which has already been sold to the Dubai Mercantile Exchange and Canary Wharf in London, will be shown off at the Home Office scientific development branch’s annual exhibition later this week. This electromagnetic radiation is a form of low level energy emitted by all people and objects. These are able to pass through clothing, paper, ceramics and wood but are blocked by metal and water.The system works by collecting these waves and processing them to form an image which can reveal concealed objects. “If I were to look at you in terahertz you would appear to glow like a light bulb and different objects glow less brightly or more brightly,” said the firm’s spokesperson. “You see a silhouette of the form but you don’t see surface anatomical effects. The system exploits technology originally developed at the government owned Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) in Oxfordshire. Astronomers use T-ray cameras that can see through dust and clouds in space, revealing what lies beyond,” explained Dr Liz Towns-Andrews, of the Science and Technology Facilities Council which runs RAL. Other terahertz systems, developed by companies such as TeraView, are used to probe the structure of pharmaceutical compounds.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7287135.stm
This new technology is truly groundbreaking. In a world of uncertaintanty, especially in the flight industry, technology like this can provide an extra sense of safety and stability. My question is on the potentially hazardous damage that this can casue to the human body, as well as the cancer producing effects of such technology.
What is underlying here, if you read between the lines, are that the effective use of collaboration and clustering have led to such technology to be developed. Thruvision, Home Office Scientific Development, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL), and the Science and Technology Facilities Council have all collaborated, shared ideas, and have fueled innovation for technology such as this. This is also a cluster becasue it takes place in a specific geographic area, Oxfordshire/England. Another excellent example of how ICT is growing and looking towards the future thanks to clustering and collaboration.
Till next time,
George Sisovitis
