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Technology

You Can See Through Walls With This Device That Fits in Your Backpack

May. 3, 2011 10:15pm Emily Esfahani Smith

A device that lets you see through walls has been developed by a British company as the first of its kind. The device, called the Prism 200c, is small enough to fit inside a backpack. According to The Daily Mail, “The Prism 200c looks through solid objects then displays an image of what is on the other side on a hand-held screen.”

The Daily Mail has more details:

Makers Cambridge Consultants expect it will be used by law enforcement agencies, emergency services or soldiers in ‘high-risk and hostile situations with minimal time and very narrow margin for error’.

The Prism can see through wood, concrete or bricks and gives a 3-D image of any movement inside the building.

Users stand with their back to the wall as the machine scans using ultra-wideband radio frequencies then look at the display to see what is going on.

The machine can also be linked up remotely to computers so commanders back at base know what is going on.

Ultra-wideband, also known as pulse radio, is very hard to detect and is able to work in a large area.

Comments (85)

Jimster123
Posted on May 3, 2011 at 11:47pm
They are going to have to remake the movie, “Porkys” and use this in a few scenes!

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Rowgue
Posted on May 3, 2011 at 11:47pm
The thing isn’t seeing through walls, and it isn’t x-ray vision. All it really is is a motion sensor, they just used a type of radio wave that can penatrate walls more readily.

You could render the device useless with a layer of tin foil.

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- Al J Zira
  Posted on May 4, 2011 at 12:15pm
  So we look for the room with the tin foil walls?
  
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LIVINGTHEDREAM
Posted on May 3, 2011 at 11:41pm
It sees us as blobs? We americans are getting fat. The Brits are much thinner cause their food stinks.

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cranberry
Posted on May 3, 2011 at 10:58pm
Huh. I’ve been watching way to much TV. I thought we were more advanced than THAT.

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PalinPal
Posted on May 3, 2011 at 10:57pm
Very Cool ~ I was worried that they could actually see people. So good to know they just show up as small blobs. Privacy is an issue with me in my own home . I would hate to know that some machine could actually see me living my life peacefully behind closed doors. Tracking me as a blob makes me feel so much secure. Isn’t is amazing all the new ways that the govenment is finding to track, store and use such hopefully useless information. And Hopefully new jobs are being created.

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- NowNece
  Posted on February 24, 2012 at 11:18pm
  I have the same problem and I suspect my neighbor have one similar to this…I hope that there isnt anything like that on the market…that can see through walls crystal clear… I share your thoughts…the horrible thing about these type of technology is that it is usually used for uses other than official use…Like how does a civilian get his/her hands on such an item…
  
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Daggett
Posted on May 3, 2011 at 10:52pm
A company I worked for in the ’80s was already doing stuff like this. Digital signal processing lets you do all kinds of spy stuff.

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Ghandi was a Republican
Posted on May 3, 2011 at 10:48pm
Can we use it to see how many illegals the Dems can fit in a voting booth?

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reckless
Posted on May 3, 2011 at 10:48pm
Can I use it to locate the Dutchman’s Lost Silver Mine?

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NEAF
Posted on May 3, 2011 at 10:47pm
That is nothing! 4 years ago I went to an Special Operation Expo and believe me they have some crazy stuffs. They have better equipment where you can see (x-ray) behind a concret wall.

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Cheetosareus
Posted on May 3, 2011 at 10:41pm
I think this will save lives..maybe. Northrupt Grumman has a new bomb that can be carried in a backpack. It flies and contains cameras the operator can see targets and direct the thing to strike. It’s called Switchblade.

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Tipdog
Posted on May 3, 2011 at 10:39pm
I don’t know what the big deal is, Rainbow Six has had something like this since Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six game. ;)

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marine249
Posted on May 3, 2011 at 10:34pm
in holders or obama hands I don’t think so

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NickDeringer
Posted on May 3, 2011 at 10:33pm
Old news.

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mcmanus181
Posted on May 3, 2011 at 10:31pm
can’t really tell alot from dots on the screen

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- banjarmon
  Posted on May 3, 2011 at 10:48pm
  3 people = 3 dots = therefore 3-D Got it??
  
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jeffyfreezone
Posted on May 3, 2011 at 10:30pm
Our military could really use this puppy!

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- PrfctlyFrank
  Posted on May 4, 2011 at 12:19am
  Our military is way past this technology.. Try MRI imaging through walls using a portable unit.. Think they can’t do that.? Laser imaging that can actually show the size and sex of an individual through walls and at distance, and show weaponry they may have?
  
  Soon as the military has no more need for it it will become some kind of new discovery..
  
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SLEUTH
Posted on May 3, 2011 at 10:28pm
now they can take a census without us knowing about it….

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Voice-O-Reason
Posted on May 3, 2011 at 10:27pm
looks like Pong to me.

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islandlady
Posted on May 3, 2011 at 10:26pm
Wonderful if your trying to catch a cheating spouse! Sorry, Just trying to look at the positive.

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- PrfctlyFrank
  Posted on May 4, 2011 at 12:03am
  And a cheating spouse is positive how?
  
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ozzie
Posted on May 3, 2011 at 10:23pm
They copied that from Halo

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CatholiConservative
Posted on May 3, 2011 at 10:22pm
Coolstuff

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smak
Posted on May 3, 2011 at 10:22pm
Misleading headline. The machine doesn’t see through walls.

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- PrfctlyFrank
  Posted on May 4, 2011 at 12:01am
  Thats right.. It’s radar, not x-ray..Should be a dead giveaway..
  
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BonnieBlueFlag
Posted on May 3, 2011 at 10:22pm
“Makers Cambridge Consultants expect it will be used by law enforcement agencies…”

This could be a wonderful tool for officer safety *provided they have a warrant.*

I hope they do not intend to use this for evidence collection as that would violate the 4th amendment as has already been ruled regarding infrared heat sensing.

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krjones
Posted on May 3, 2011 at 10:21pm
wonderful more big brother

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anutter
Posted on May 3, 2011 at 10:20pm
What fun toys.

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dontbotherme
Posted on May 3, 2011 at 10:17pm
Oh just great!

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- hersey10
  Posted on May 3, 2011 at 10:21pm
  I want a pair of glasses like this , finally x-ray vision have arrived !!
  
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- Vet with Vendetta
  Posted on May 3, 2011 at 10:27pm
  No kidding, now when they bust down your door to put you in a homeland concentration camp for your beliefs of freedom, they’ll have an easier time doing it.
  
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- 8jrts
  Posted on May 3, 2011 at 10:40pm
  You may change your tune when the EMT uses it to save your @ss sometime….never know…just yesterday we were talking about 911!!! GEE Don’t you think we could have used this to find someone???
  
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- Vet with Vendetta
  Posted on May 3, 2011 at 10:43pm
  That will be the government’s excuse for buying them, then when the time comes they’ll be used against those to stand up for revolution.
  I won’t change my tune, because I was perfectly happy knowing my chances of survival in an emergency without that device, but thanks anyway.
  
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- 8jrts
  Posted on May 3, 2011 at 10:49pm
  Vet with Vendetta
  Where there’s a way to see wounded, there’s a way to block it as well. Just think that it could be used for good. But you do have a point…government warps everything.
  
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- Dale
  Posted on May 3, 2011 at 10:50pm
  hersey10;
  “I want a pair of glasses like this , finally x-ray vision have arrived !!”
  ————————
  Then I want a blue suit and red cape!
  
  Report this comment
- UNITEDWESTAND
  Posted on May 3, 2011 at 10:52pm
  Oh well, as technology progresses more and more of what has been considered privacy probably will go away. One day I would not be surprised if buying ‘x-ray’ glasses would be a common good. However, in the free marketplace, there will always be inventions that protect peoples privacy. I suggest all walls in the future should be lined with lead.
  
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- MiketheTrucker
  Posted on May 3, 2011 at 10:55pm
  And this can be used in conjunction with sniper rounds that can penetrate concrete walls to kill the target.
  
  When does technology go too far?
  
  Report this comment
- UNITEDWESTAND
  Posted on May 3, 2011 at 10:58pm
  By the way, the Daily Mail description is misleading. This particular product does NOT display a 3-D image, according to the video, it only displays a point representing a person on a 2-D plane. I am more worried about the x-ray cars the government purchased recently.
  
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- randy
  Posted on May 3, 2011 at 11:00pm
  Yeah well, I can put a drinking glass up to a wall and hear what’s going on in the other room :)
  
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- staggerlee32
  Posted on May 3, 2011 at 11:02pm
  I bought a pair of glasses that did that out of the back of Boys Life in 1972.
  
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- Finch88
  Posted on May 3, 2011 at 11:06pm
  Wow the day of X ray Vision glasses is here.
  
  http://politicalbowl.com – Political Videos
  
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- RepubliCorp
  Posted on May 3, 2011 at 11:16pm
  Remember this works both ways…………….. you could see them coming
  
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- ozchambers
  Posted on May 3, 2011 at 11:29pm
  Looks like those heartbeat sensors in COD MW2.
  
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- 70S_KIDS_FIGHTING_SOCIALISM
  Posted on May 3, 2011 at 11:37pm
  I got ny x-ray glasses in 1970. If the military asked I would have lent them my pair. You can get yours here for just $1.00. http://chawedrosin.wordpress.com/2010/03/08/x-ray-specs/
  
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- 82dAirborne
  Posted on May 3, 2011 at 11:52pm
  40 years ago I spent $10 on something similar. That comic book lied to me!!!!! This gadget will save lives. Yes of course it can be used for “evil” purposes. But it can also save a lot of U.S. & allied lives when we really decide to go after the radicals where they live.
  
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- brliantedj
  Posted on May 3, 2011 at 11:59pm
  Radar detector for this on the way. You just know technology works both ways.
  
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- BetterDays
  Posted on May 4, 2011 at 12:06am
  It’s radar, detects movement, not infrared, not photographic, just movement. Very easy to defeat. If they can’t see you because you aren’t moving, give them what they will think is you in another room, a dummy on a model car. It cab be used against the use, not useful in it’s present tech level.
  
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- carnifex
  Posted on May 4, 2011 at 3:50am
  For a scary look into the future, try “the Light of Other Days”, a dis-topian look at what would happen to our society if all privacy was eliminated through technology. First being lauded as a remarkable tool for history, and criminal prosecution. Older generations killing themselves when past sins are revealed. The middle generations using it for tittillation, and the rise of extreme prudishness to prevent that tittilation, Younger generations accepting it as normality. And the ones born to it, ignoring it as just another fact of life- heh, so what? Sort of like camera phones.
  
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- Dustyluv
  Posted on May 4, 2011 at 4:19am
  I bought many pairs of xray glasses when I was a kid…they wer all defective, i didnt see one boobie…
  
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- mikem1969
  Posted on May 4, 2011 at 6:03am
  time to buy some inflatable dummies. At least that way, they will have fun trying to know which dots are me and my family.
  
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- Sheepdog911
  Posted on May 4, 2011 at 6:10am
  Ooooo, It’ll be in the hands of governement (law enforcement) and military. Let’s see what’s wrong with that …. It’ll be in the hands of Patriots who are sworn to defend the Constitution of the United States. When an administration starts giving Union members Brown Shirt powes, then you should be afraid. Until then, get over yourselves, especially those here who claim to be Vets, like me.
  
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- TexasCommonSense
  Posted on May 4, 2011 at 8:13am
  hersey10, glasses like that have been around for yeas. I used to see them advertised in Superman comic books what I was eight. That was in the days before Superman was a traitor.
  
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- Sinista MACE
  Posted on May 4, 2011 at 8:45am
  YAY Now that Bin Ladin is “dead”…again…the TSA and Military will be peeking through your walls looking for Al Awlaki, who had meetings with top level officials in the Pentagon!!!
  
  False-flag-pretense-invasion of privacy coming to a neighborhood near you!
  
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- Sinista MACE
  Posted on May 4, 2011 at 8:47am
  Cmon, guys!!
  
  Where’s your American Spirit?!?!
  
  SUPPORT THE TROOPS AS THEY PEER THROUGH YOUR FREAKIN HOUSE!!
  
  IF YOU DON’T, THEN YOU’RE UNAMERICAN AND YOU HATE OUR TROOPS!
  
  LAY DOWN AND TAKE THAT SCAN UP YOUR POSTERIOR!!!
  
  HOOAH!
  
  Report this comment
- Avidmonkey
  Posted on May 4, 2011 at 9:33am
  I see Inky, Blinky, Pinky. In walked Clyde. Now they just need a Pac Man running around the screen gobbling up the bad guys.
  
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- AOL_REFUGEE
  Posted on May 4, 2011 at 2:30pm
  And then, of course, there’s the LESS EXPENSIVE DRILL!
  
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- Eliasim
  Posted on May 4, 2011 at 10:24pm
  It doesn’t matter to me. I know a system, a world, such as the direction they are taking it can not last, and either they will destroy most life on earth or God himself will. And, I’ll be back, but most of the violators of Liberty, or those whom blindly follow along, will not be back on earth, neither in heaven. Because in “These Days” there is a reason that there is so many people, because all the dead are living and it’s interesting how it coincides with the exact same time frame that Satan is released from captivity, because hell has given up the dead.
  
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- Sinista MACE
  Posted on May 5, 2011 at 3:33pm
  Let me look inside the Federal Reserve with it and Fort Knox and see if they have my damned gold bullion.
  
  I bet they can’t detect THAT.
  
  Can they detect where the hell 2.3 trillion went missing in the Pentagon when Rumsfeld was still around?
  
  No…..
  
  Report this comment

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