A new invention could give your smartphone X-ray vision

UNDATED (WKRC) – Researchers have invented a chip that may soon allow your smartphone to look through solid surfaces.

An ability previously restricted to science fiction and Superman may soon just be a camera shutter away.

A new study published in IEEE Xplore detailed the most recent development in a project that’s been culminating for over 15 years. The chip doesn’t actually use X-rays, since the radiation can be harmful to the human body. Instead, they “use signals of 200 gigahertz to 400 gigahertz instead of X-rays,” according to an author of the study.

Previous tests demonstrated the chip’s ability to see through dense fog, dust, and other airborne obstacles that light typically doesn’t pass through. The chip was still able to produce images of what was on the other side of the obstacle. Most recently, the researchers managed to peer through a sheet of cardboard.

Scientists say this technology is still far from complete, but every new development brings us one step closer to a reality where our smartphones can reveal a whole new layer of the world around us.