Researchers have managed to come up with a altogether fantastic technology that will allow two drones to communicate with each other. Well, there is nothing special about that however, what is special is the fact that these two talking drones can actually use their communication to ind out what is on the other side of solid walls.
Yes, as fantastic as t sounds, it has been done. University of California, Santa Barbara researchers Yasamin Mostofi and Chitra R. Karanam have come up with a system that uses two drones and Wi-Fi to almost see through solid walls. Almost because it isn’t quite on the level of Superman’s X-ray vision yet. However, it is still pretty damn fantastic.
So here is how it happens. Both of the drones hover around a solid structure that needs to be mapped. One of the drone sends strong Wi-Fi signal through the structure while the other picks it up. Now, the difference in the strength of the wave at different point is used as a measure. Using this very information, researchers can create a pretty accurate, 3- model of whatever is behind the walls.
Our proposed approach has enabled unmanned aerial vehicles to image details through walls in 3D with only WiFi signals. This approach utilizes only WiFi RSSI measurements, does not require any prior measurements in the area of interest and does not need objects to move to be imaged.
Initially, only 2-D imaging was available. However, the team graduated quickly to full fledged 3-D models and the results is now there for all to see. The devices involved in creating the system are pretty simple and include a simple Wi-Fi router, a raspberry Pi and a Google Tango tablet.
Take an in-depth look at how the system works, straight from the horse’s mouth, right below:
