MIT Researchers Can Take Your Pulse, Right Through the Walls 125
An anonymous reader writes MIT researchers develop technology that can monitor people's breathing and heart rate through walls. 'Their latest report demonstrates that they can now detect gestures as subtle as the rise and fall of a person's chest. From that, they can determine a person's heart rate with 99 percent accuracy. The research could be used for health-tracking apps, baby monitors, and for the military and law enforcement.' The report describes how they extended their through-wall technology to up to five users and how they track vital signs.
Coming soon to a TV near you (Score:4, Insightful)
This will probably be a feature in new TV sets. Of course, all this data will be transmitted to advertisers.
(On the other hand, it would be great for gyms and for workout programs.)
Horseshit (Score:5, Insightful)
"The research could be used for health-tracking apps, baby monitors, and for the military and law enforcement."
Yeah, lead with the health-tracking and baby monitors, which actually benefits the subject, such that the subject would happily allow a monitor right next to them, and thus "through the walls" monitoring will never, ever get used.
Bury the bit about using it shoot people who break a drug law, or a resister of some foreign tyranny, in a way that they never have a chance to see it coming, which is how this will actually get used.
Ugh.
Re:More Uses for Aluminium foil (Score:5, Insightful)
But given that in the US, even use of commonly-available infrared-scanning equipment by law enforcement requires a warrant, I doubt very much that even more intrusive scanning would be ruled legal for LEO without a warrant.
So they'll use it anyway and then use 'parallel construction' to convict you.