You can now read closed books, thanks to MIT's latest development

The system could examine any materials organised in thin layers, such as coatings on machine parts or pharmaceuticals,said Barmak Heshmat, a research scientist at MIT

An astonishing new technology has been developed by scientists, including one of Indian origin, that can read pages of a closed book, says a study published in the journal Nature Communications.
Researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), including Ramesh Raskar, tested the technology on a sample of papers, each with one letter printed on it. The system was able to correctly identify the letters on the top nine sheets.
All about the new technology:
  • The researchers from US's MIT and Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) developed the algorithm that acquires images from individual sheets in stacks of paper, and interprets the often distorted or incomplete images as individual letters
  • Terahertz radiation, the band of electromagnetic radiation between microwaves and infrared light is used by the system. It has several advantages over other types of waves that can penetrate surfaces, such as X-rays or sound waves
  • Its frequency profiles can separate between ink and blank paper and has much better depth resolution than ultrasound
  • The system develops the fact that tiny air pockets are trapped between the pages of a book about 20 micrometres deep
  • The gap in refractive index between the air and paper means that the boundary between the two will reflect terahertz radiation back to a detector
  • The new system consists of a standard terahertz camera that emits ultra short bursts of radiation and the camera's built-in sensor detects their reflections
  • From the reflection's time of arrival, the algorithm can measure the distance to the individual pages of the book
  • Currently, the algorithm can correctly deduce the distance from the camera to the top 20 pages in a stack, but past a depth of nine pages, the energy of the reflected signal is so low that the differences between frequency signatures are swamped by noise
  • Terahertz imaging is still a relatively young technology, and researchers are constantly working to improve both the accuracy of detectors and the power of the radiation sources so that deeper penetration could be made possible, researchers said
Research scientist Barmak Heshmat speaks:
  • A research scientist at MIT, Barmak Heshmat said, "The Metropolitan Museum in New York showed a lot of interest in this, because they want to, for example, look into some antique books that they don't even want to touch."
  • The system could examine any materials organised in thin layers, such as coatings on machine parts or pharmaceuticals, he said
  • "A lot of websites have these letter certifications (captchas) to make sure you are not a robot, and this algorithm can get through a lot of them," said Heshmat. 
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China tests first quantum radar: Report

The system was able to detect a target at a range of 100 kms. (Gettty Images - Representational Image)
Sun, 11 Sep 2016-11:37am , Beijing , PTI
The technology was developed by the Intelligent Perception Technology Laboratory of the 14th Institute of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC).
After launching the world's first hack-free satellite, China has tested its first quantum radar which could detect objects, including stealth aircraft, within the range of 100 kilometres.
The first Chinese quantum radar was developed by the Intelligent Perception Technology Laboratory of the 14th Institute of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC), Russian media quoted Chinese media reports.
The radar was tested in mid-August, Russia Today quoted Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency as saying.
Quantum Communication satellite, China, unhackable, Satellite, Space, Quantum Computing, Alibaba, Chinese Academy of Science

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The system was able to detect a target at a range of 100 kms in a real-world environment, the report said.
The device employs single photon detection technology.
Quantum radar is a device that uses quantum entanglement photons to provide better detection capabilities than conventional radar systems.
The method would be useful for tracking targets with a low radar cross section, such as modern aircraft using stealth technology or targets employing active countermeasures to jam or baffle enemy radar, it said.
The technology may also find use in biomedicine, since quantum radar requires lower energy and can be used to non-invasively probe for objects with low reflectivity, such as cancer cells.
Earlier, China launched the world s first quantum communications satellite, which uses quantum entanglement for cryptography.
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