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Terahertz Imagery Progresses 271

Posted by michael from the see-thru dept.
ke4roh writes "Since Slashdot last discussed terahertz imaging, the European Space Agency's Star Tiger project has taken terahertz images of a human hand. Some of the pictures show just how useful the imagery might be for peering through walls and such - one of the images is through a 15mm pad of paper." The EE Times has another story.
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Terahertz Imagery Progresses More

Terahertz Imagery Progresses

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  • Terehertz Specs (Score:5, Funny)

    by EvilSporkMan ( 648878 ) on Tuesday February 11, 2003 @05:10PM (#5283226)
    I predict the #1 use for this technology will eventually be peeking through woman's clothes.

    • Re:Terehertz Specs (Score:4, Funny)

      by guido1 ( 108876 ) on Tuesday February 11, 2003 @05:15PM (#5283276)
      I predict the #1 use for this technology will eventually be peeking through woman's clothes.

      Unfortunately, they prototyped it by peeking through a guys clothes, so it may never catch on.

      See the image and avi [startiger.org] here...

    • Re:Terehertz Specs (Score:5, Funny)

      by greechneb ( 574646 ) on Tuesday February 11, 2003 @05:19PM (#5283310) Journal
      Seeing through clothing might be an option, but did they have to use this guy?

      picture [startiger.org]

      video [startiger.org]

    • Re:Terehertz Specs (Score:3, Insightful)

      by dirvish ( 574948 )
      Yeah, I definately need a terehertz imaging equipped video camera!

      I have heard that video cameras with really good low light (zero lux?) capabilities can see through thin layers of clothing. Haven't tried it myselft though.

    • Re:Terehertz Specs (Score:3, Interesting)

      by u19925 ( 613350 )
      much simple solution exist for peeking through women's clothes. remember sony camcorder night vision mode? if used in day time and if a woman is wearing tight clothing which is transparent to IR light, then that IR light gets reflected by your body. So by using an IR filter, you can almost see through. Sony removed this feature in new camcorders (they added a sensor, so it can't be used in day light. i guess, it can still be fooled. also, there is some rumor that they changed the CCD chip somewhat). This was all sometime in 97-98.

  • Woohoo! (Score:3, Funny)

    by d3kk ( 644538 ) on Tuesday February 11, 2003 @05:10PM (#5283229) Journal
    No more wishing for x-ray vision. Woman's locker room here I come!

  • Imagine... (Score:5, Funny)

    by MisterFancypants ( 615129 ) on Tuesday February 11, 2003 @05:12PM (#5283241)
    Imagine a Beowulf cluster of these taking pictures of Natalie Portman.

  • I can just see the spam now... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by minektur ( 600391 ) <junk@clif t . org> on Tuesday February 11, 2003 @05:12PM (#5283244) Homepage Journal
    "x-ray goggles" based on REAL SCIENCE!!!!!

    See what is going on at your neighbors house!

    Protect yourself from armed muggers! ....

  • new new hand fetish pictures for my website (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    hope they took pictures of some good looking hands, i mean, one without warts and stuff. I need new images for my hand fetish website!

  • Great (Score:5, Funny)

    by LordKaT ( 619540 ) on Tuesday February 11, 2003 @05:14PM (#5283258) Homepage Journal
    A news story about images . . . and no images!


    --LordKaT

    • Well looks like Im going to get abused for this but . . .

      I was talking about the ZDNet article, dagnabit!

      --LordKaT

  • Yea but... (Score:4, Funny)

    by welthqa ( 111199 ) on Tuesday February 11, 2003 @05:14PM (#5283260)
    In Alias the terahertz camera could see thru 30 meters of earth.
    • In Alias they hacked into a computer system and retrieve all of the relevant data in 5 seconds by placing a credit card on top of the monitor. Lets just say they don't let basic physics, chemestry, or even common sense stand in the way of the story.

    • That's nothing (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      MacGyver built a teraherz camera out of a banana peel and a rubber band.

    • Re:Yea but... (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      In Alias the terahertz camera could see thru 30 meters of earth.

      Well, it's just a TV show. It's not accurate. If it was real life, they'd be pointing it at Jennifer Garner.

  • Practical Application (Score:5, Interesting)

    by BoomerSooner ( 308737 ) on Tuesday February 11, 2003 @05:14PM (#5283262) Homepage Journal
    Airport screening. This reminds me of the airport in Total Recall where Arnold had a gun. Very cool. 4th Amendment notwithstanding.

  • anything (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    that's cool. What sort of astrnomy can be done with this?
    fp?

  • Thermal imaging (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Adam9 ( 93947 ) on Tuesday February 11, 2003 @05:14PM (#5283264) Journal
    Snip of some info from the tiger page:

    Terahertz imaging can be achieved by observing the natural terahertz waves emitted by pretty much everything. Unlike light, terahertz waves are able to propagate through cloud and smoke providing a powerful advantage for certain remote sensing measurements. From a practical aspect they are also able to pass through windows, paper, clothing and in certain instances even walls.

    Sounds like thermal imaging on steroids. Eventually, would this become the standard military surveillance method that could be used on a UAV in enemy or (god forbid) domestic airspace?

    • Re:Thermal imaging (Score:2, Informative)

      by t_little ( 91171 )

      Sounds like thermal imaging on steroids

      It is thermal imaging. Terahertz waves are at the low end of the far-infrared region of the spectrum. They are produced by thermal radiation of all objects warmer than liquid helium temperature.

  • Imagine.... (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    What the porn industry can do with this! No more fake celbrity nude photos!!

  • Old news (Score:5, Funny)

    by redbeard_ak ( 542964 ) <redbeard@NOSpAm.riseup.net> on Tuesday February 11, 2003 @05:15PM (#5283269) Homepage
    These things have been available in comic books for years.

    • I've been looking at the bones of my hand since I was a kid just by using a simple flashlight.
      -- Offtopic, Inflammatory, Inappropriate, Illegal, or Offensive comments might be moderated.

  • Oh great (Score:5, Funny)

    by creative_name ( 459764 ) <pauls@nospaM.ou.edu> on Tuesday February 11, 2003 @05:15PM (#5283270)
    As if the black car sitting outside my house wasn't enough, now I have to deal with this kind of government surveillance too!? At least now I know where they got the pictures of my Anti RIAA boxers from...

  • useless (Score:5, Funny)

    by steelerguy ( 172075 ) on Tuesday February 11, 2003 @05:15PM (#5283271) Homepage
    until you can make out a nipple...

  • moths (Score:5, Funny)

    by greechneb ( 574646 ) on Tuesday February 11, 2003 @05:16PM (#5283277) Journal
    According to the article, the frequencies are used only certain moths. It also talks about using the frequency to carry terabit wireless networks...

    Does this mean that that I could use the wireless network to create swarm of attack moths that can see through reams of paper.

    I can finally overtake the pointy haired boss and rule the office!
  • I can see this coming soon in grade schools nationwide.

    A: "Wanna TeraHertz Donut?"

    B: "Sure!"

    A Hits B

    B: "Ow!"

    A: "TeraHertz, Donut?"

  • I wonder... (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    What kind of engineering is required to make the 'lead underwear' required to block these. Certainly not a simple tinfoil hat.

  • Can see through clothing... (Score:5, Funny)

    by $$$$$exyGal ( 638164 ) on Tuesday February 11, 2003 @05:17PM (#5283294) Homepage Journal
    ... the project has also released pictures of the human body imaged through clothing.

    Where are those pictures ;-)? Weren't there some night-vision camera's that also did that?

    --sex [slashdot.org]

  • Is it just me, (Score:5, Insightful)

    by xercist ( 161422 ) on Tuesday February 11, 2003 @05:18PM (#5283298) Homepage
    or does the repeated use of the "St(PICTURE OF A STAR)rTiger" logo on the pictures page make the whole thing look considerably less like a professional research project?

  • Apple. (Score:5, Funny)

    by Daleks ( 226923 ) on Tuesday February 11, 2003 @05:20PM (#5283327)
    Just wait, by tomorrow morning Apple will have an article on their webpage about the "Terahertz Myth." Soon afterwards AMD will release the Athlon XP 1100000+, but it will really run at 700000 Mhz.

    Posted from Mac OS X.

  • Great. (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Now I have to deal with wallhackers outside of Counter Strike.
    • > Now I have to deal with wallhackers outside of Counter Strike.

      Look on the bright side - in the next release, wallhacking won't be cheating, it'll just be another piece of equipment. (dr00l, someone gimme one of these and a paintball gun...)

  • Also recently discovered (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 11, 2003 @05:21PM (#5283336)
    An image [bizoffice.com] of a hand in the 430-750 trillion Hz range shows remarkably more clarity than the new technology!
  • Once again we see the world driven by the porn industry. I can see it now. Some fly-by-night porn producer sets up a terrahertz camera aimed at the women's locker room of the local health club.

    That reminds me. Where can I get one of these. I'm on my way to workout.

  • Just in case..... (Score:2, Redundant)

    by andyring ( 100627 )
    Terahertz camera takes snapshot of the future

    14:35Tuesday 11th February 2003
    Rupert Goodwins

    A new area of remote sensing and communication is opening up, thanks to groundbreaking technology from the European Space Agency.

    StarTiger, a European Space Agency project, has taken the first terahertz picture of a human hand. Terahertz radiation lies on the boundary between radio and light waves and is far more difficult to detect and analyse than either, but is of huge interest for medical, security, environmental and communication uses; the technology could, for instance, theoretically carry wireless data at terabit speeds.

    ESA originally investigated the radiation for sensing atmospheric and ground phenomena from satellites, but it is now examining terrestrial applications of the new frequencies. "We have recognised the huge potential in non-space applications, and in parallel to exploiting the use of terahertz waves and the StarTiger technology in space, we have kicked-off a commercialisation study to identify the best way of transferring it into terrestrial systems," said Pierre Brisson, head of ESA's Technology Transfer and Promotion Office.

    One terahertz is 1,000 gigahertz, and most current radio technology stops at around 100 GHz: 0.1THz. Everything gives off terahertz radiation naturally, and like radio waves -- but unlike heat or light -- the waves can pass through some solid objects. Like light, it is possible to focus the radiation and create images as if the intervening material were translucent, and by analysing the frequencies given off the chemical and physical characteristics of the object can be worked out.

    Terahertz radiation has wavelengths too short for normal radio antennae to pick up but too long for normal optical techniques and thus the band has been closed to experimenters and scientists. Until now, the only known user of the frequencies has been a species of moth. By using nano-engineering techniques to create micro-machined arrays of minute antennae, the StarTiger team has created a sensor array that can image objects at 0.2THz and 0.3THz.

    "The final version was an enhanced imaging system incorporating a two-colour 16-pixel detector array of the size of a postage stamp. This advanced system incorporated revolutionary silicon micro-electrical-mechanical systems (MEMs) technology," said Chris Mann, the project manager at Rutherford Appleton Laboratories (RAL) in Oxfordshire, where most of the work has been done. "The enhanced system delivered images that confirmed the nature of terahertz waves. An imager can show details of features under the skin, confirming the potential of this technique." As well as images of a hand taken through 15mm of paper, the project has also released pictures of the human body imaged through clothing.

    Because the field is so new and unexplored, many applications are still to be tested. Detecting explosives or biological agents in parcels, cancers beneath the skin, the state of wounds beneath dressings, and seeing through fog: all have been suggested by StarTiger and other researchers.

  • Good to see some constuctive devices being made (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Neophytus ( 642863 ) on Tuesday February 11, 2003 @05:26PM (#5283380)
    A device that can be used to see through walls has potential anti-terrorism uses, and if tweaked it could probably be used as a replacement for the mildly-dangerous xray technology. Also being able to be used for communications, this is a step in the right direction for research into radio technologys.

  • Ugh... (Score:4, Funny)

    by da3dAlus ( 20553 ) <dustin.grauNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Tuesday February 11, 2003 @05:27PM (#5283381) Homepage Journal
    Imagine the X10 camera ads this will bring forth...

  • I'm convinced already! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Chocolate Teapot ( 639869 ) on Tuesday February 11, 2003 @05:27PM (#5283382) Homepage Journal
    Terahertz radiation lies on the boundary between radio and light waves and is far more difficult to detect and analyse than either, but is of huge interest for medical, security, environmental and communication uses;
    The medical significance of this is astonishing. Even a layperson such as myself could look at those images and diagnose that the patient is suffering from severely blurred hands.

  • Um... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Elwood P Dowd ( 16933 ) <judgmentalist@gmail.com> on Tuesday February 11, 2003 @05:28PM (#5283399) Journal
    From the article:

    Everything gives off terahertz radiation naturally, and like radio waves -- but unlike heat or light -- the waves can pass through some solid objects.

    Light waves can't pass through solid objects? Except, you know, glass. Or clear plastic. Visible light can't pass through things that are opaque, moron. That's why they invented the damn word in the first place.

    • Apparently, this is Elwood P. Dowd from after the injection.

      ...In this world...you have to be either oh-so-smart, or oh-so-pleasant. For years I was smart. I prefer pleasant.
  • I don't get it...
    This is what happens when you let the marketing team design literature, people!
    J.
  • About time. Now Herr Reichmarshall Ashcroft can track Democr^H^H^H^H^H^H Commun^H^H^H^H^H^H terrorists. And we all know those who oppose this are probally doing something un-american. And of course Ashcroft, as the god-fearing american will never exploit this to violate our consitutional rights.

    • Conservative SCOTUS ruled against thermal imaging (Score:5, Informative)

      by Artifice_Eternity ( 306661 ) on Tuesday February 11, 2003 @06:14PM (#5283721) Homepage
      It's possible that Ashcroft will seek the use of this and other types of remote imaging technology in the future. But for now, he can't use them without a warrant.

      Surprisingly, the Supreme Court ruled last year -- in an opinion written by Scalia (conservative) and joined by Souter (moderate) and Thomas (conservative), as well as Ginsburg and Breyer (both liberal) -- that the use of thermal imaging to detect marijuana grow lamps inside a house was illegal [prfamerica.org]:
      The District Court [had previously] ruled that the thermal imaging device "is a non-intrusive device which emits no rays or beams and shows a crude visual image of the heat being radiated from the outside of the house"; it "did not show any people or activity within the walls of the structure" it "cannot penetrate walls or windows to reveal conversations or human activities"; and "(n)o intimate details of the home were observed."


      The Court of Appeals initially reversed this ruling, but reversed itself, ruling that Kyllo has shown no expectation of privacy because he had made no attempt to conceal the heat escaping from his home, and even if he had, there was no reasonable expectation of privacy because the imager "did not expose any intimate details of Kyllo's life," only "amorphous 'hot spots' on the roof and exterior wall."

      The U. S. Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Court of Appeals. Justice Scalia's decision pointed out that the Fourth Amendment provides that "(t)he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreason able searches and seizures shall not be violated." It cited a 1961 ruling, Silverman v. United States, ruling, "At the very core" of the Fourth Amendment "stands the right of a man to retreat into his own home and there be free from unreasonable governmental intrusion." It held that with few exceptions, the question whether a warrantless search of a home is reasonable and hence constitutional must be answered no.

      The decision discussed at length the change in technology availing the government of visual surveillance, and the historic tie of visual surveillance to trespass. However, the court observed, visual surveillance has been historically lawful, because the eye cannot be guilty of trespass. The decision referred back to the 1986 Ciraolo case where the Supreme Court ruled that aerial surveillance with the naked eye was permissible without a search warrant, even if the police were looking at plants growing within the back yard, which known legally as being within the "curtilage" of the home.

      In his discussion of the effect of the evolution of technology on privacy rights, Justice Scalia stated that technology enabling human flight has uncovered portions of the house and its curtilage that once were private. But, he held, the Kyllo case had to confront the limits on the power of technology to shrink the realm of guaranteed privacy.

      What the court concluded is that a search is permissible without a search warrant if the surveillance was normally available to the public without additional technology. Thus, looking down from an airplane is permissible, but using an eavesdropping device is not.

      The distinction that "off-the-wall observations" could be permissible while "through the wall" surveillance could be impermissible would lead to a trap as technology advances. The court held that any other approach "would leave the homeowner at the mercy of advancing technology-including imaging technology that could discern all human activity in the home."
      It looks to me like terahertz imaging would fall under this ruling, and thus be illegal without a warrant. For now, anyway...
  • If they equipped that x-cam that is on all the pop-up ads with this I might actually buy one.
  • When this becomes more developed this could lead to less of a need for Doctors to use exploritative surgery to see what is going on in the deep tissues. To find things such as torn tissues or tumors.

    And from what I understand from the article, TeraHertz radiation is something that objects emmit naturally. So I'd assume devices using this technique would not be exposing you to radiation, as X-rays do.

    Security checkpoints might adopt this also. Airports currently use x-rays which can be damaging to high speed film and has other negative issues also. The article mentioned that certain chemical characteristics could also be gleaned from an imaging system such as this, since the object itself (and the chemicals it contains) is the thing emmitting the radiation. Possibilities include detecting explosives and drugs.

    Also, just as a side note, the pictures of a human body through clothing referred to in the article are of some fat guy with flabby tits. View at your own risk.

  • Inkjet fabrication instead of photolithography? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by mikeophile ( 647318 ) on Tuesday February 11, 2003 @05:49PM (#5283548)
    It seems like it would be a much easier and cheaper way of producing the Thz waveguide antennae.
  • from http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/technology /t-ray_camera_020613.html [space.com]
    To develop the technology quickly, StarTiger was created by the ESA. The project brought a group of researchers together for a few months, provided ample money and facilities, and encouraged development of new technology in a short period of time. The researchers started in June, created their first T-ray image last fall, and released one this week.
    Sounds really simple and efficient. Is a lot of research done this way?
  • The article actually states that the camera is imaging at the 0.2THz to 0.3THz - which means that they're operating at 200-300GHz.

    Thats like Intel stating they broke the Gigahertz barrier when they reached 300 MHz processor speeds (or rather 0.3GHz).

  • There have been quite a few posts asking about cameras that can see through clothing. One even calling it an April's fools joke. Here is an article about Video Voyeurs from CyberCrime [techtv.com]. If I remember correctly the infrared on the cameras work best in bright sunlight looking at tight dark clothing.
  • Terahertz radiation lies on the boundary between radio and light waves and is far more difficult to detect and analyse than either, but is of huge interest for medical, security, environmental and communication uses;

    If this is so groundbreaking, why do they fail to mention that "terahertz radiation" also goes by another name: infrared [lbl.gov]? If it's so hard to detect and analyze, how come my $10 radio-shack universal remote control can do it?

    • Re:seems bogus (Score:2, Informative)

      by JBark ( 170224 )
      I believe they failed to metion infrared, because infrared is usually considered part of the light spectrum, hence the terms "infrared light" and "ultra-violet light".
    • Not only that, a lot of USB cams can see IR light. Point the IR port of your palm/laptop/jeteye at the cam and initiate a transfer.

      I seem to remember that it looked blue when detected by my IBM USB camera for some reason.

  • What exactly is 'terabit speeds'? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by jerrytcow ( 66962 ) on Tuesday February 11, 2003 @07:08PM (#5284033) Homepage
    Terahertz radiation lies on the boundary between radio and light waves and is far more difficult to detect and analyse than either, but is of huge interest for medical, security, environmental and communication uses; the technology could, for instance, theoretically carry wireless data at terabit speeds.

    Do these waves travel faster than 2.4 GHz waves? That would be news - I was under the impression that all waves traveled at the same speed.

  • This smells suspiciously of renaming something old so it seems new.

    In the early 1980s, the IRAS satellite did an all-sky survey at wavelengths up to 100 micron - i.e. about 3 THz.

    The article says "most current radio technology stops at around 100 GHz." I myself have observed at 345GHz (0.345 THz) using radio astronomy techniques, and this was over 10 years ago. (This was at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory, but it is not the only such observatory in the world.)

    There is some new stuff here, however - at CSO, we had only one pixel, and they are talking about a compact 16 pixel detector (working at 0.2 to 0.3 THz - I.e. much the same frequencies as we were using.)

    From an astronomical point of view, although detectors are a fairly big issue, our main problem was noise from the atmosphere - i.e. the atmosphere 'glows' at these wavelenghts, which tends to drown out the astronomical objects you are looking for.
  • Did anyone else look at their diagrams of the terahertz pixels? They were massive, stacked silicon structures. I can't imagine them getting the densities of those things anywhere near the densities of your run-of-the-mill digital camera anytime soon. It also explains the rather poor resolution of the sample images.

    Hopefully improvements will let them be rolled into low cost medical equipment (fairly) soon. Or cheap, light x-ray goggles, as everyone seems to want :)

  • Terahertz in the U.S. (Score:2, Informative)

    by oil ( 594341 )
    There's a small company in Ann Arbor, Michigan that has a commercial terahertz imaging device called the T-Ray 2000. Check it out. http://www.picometrix.com/t-ray/index.html

  • From the article:

    the StarTiger team has created a sensor array that can image objects at 0.2THz and 0.3THz.

    The whole point of engineering notation, in which you only express numbers in terms of powers of ten which are multiples of three, is that your number which gets multiplied is greater than one and less than 1,000, which would put you in the next bracket. It's Kilo Mega Giga Tera, for 10^3, 10^6, 10^9, and 10^12 respectively.

    Hence .3 THz is not proper use of engineering notation, and thus it is not proper use of the name Tera. This is still Gigahertz range. When they get past .999(bar) THz and up to 1 THz, then this is terahertz imaging. This isn't even almost terahertz imaging, it's less than a third of the way there.

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