MIT's Camera Can Read Closed Books

Technology has influenced our lives so much that we are unable to accomplish anything without the use of technology and computers. Computers have automated the boring stuff for us and by getting faster and faster every day, they are on the verge to take over humans.
Like many other fields of science and research, computers have finally entered the field of history and archaeology with a BANG!. In the last month, MIT researchers published a paper on their latest breakthroughs in experimentation on terahertz radiations. MIT Media Lab team has developed a new device, a terahertz camera, which can read closed books using the terahertz radiations.

Working

Terahertz is a special class of radiations and is most appropriate for this purpose. This is so because of these radiations' ability to detect different chemicals and their shapes based on the frequency fluctuations these chemicals cause. This fact helps terahertz camera to distinguish between the ink and the paper and to recognize characters by their shapes. These recognition patterns are then amplified and displayed using sensors and micro-controllers. The sensors also help the camera in detecting the page thickness in order to distinguish between different pages.
Terahertz radiations used in this camera are specially designed to come out in short bursts. These bursts act as pixels for reading the text of the book. As the image resolution is enhanced by smaller pixel size, similarly, resolution of text is enhanced by shorter bursts. i.e., shorter the radiation bursts higher will be the resolution. However, the visual quality of text is not very good as this technology is still in its development phase.
Till now, this amazing camera has been able to read up to 9 pages but the scientists are confident to improve this device for practical commercial use.
Meet the brains behind this amazing technology:

Applications

This technology can revolutionize multiple sectors of operation and can speed up bunch of routine tasks.

• As the sole purpose of this invention, this technology can pave way for reading very ancient manuscripts. This only aspect can reveal astonishing facts and details about history.
• By using this technology, researchers won't have to open old books for reading, as frequent opening of book can damage its pages and hence the useful treasure of words.
• This technology can help in automation of book keeping and library management using robots and computers.
• Terahertz radiations alone can be used to detect guns and weapons. Their practical application can help in law enforcement as well.

Short Comings

No flaws have been found in terahertz camera as yet, but there are a few things which need to be improved.

• As this is the first version of the device, there is certainly lack of functionality.
• The text resolution is not very great.
• The camera is expected to be slow in reading the text.
• The major short coming which needs to be eradicated is the limited number of pages it can read.

Source:

• Curiosity