The safety of autonomous vehicles could be boosted with a new system that allows robots to see around corners.
Developed by engineers at the University of Pennsylvania, HoloRadar enables robots to see around corners by using radio waves that are processed by AI. Robots equipped with the technology were able to reconstruct three-dimensional scenes outside their direct line of sight, including pedestrians.
Unlike previous approaches to non-line-of-sight perception, which have depended on visible light, HoloRadar works reliably in darkness and under variable lighting conditions.
“Robots and autonomous vehicles need to see beyond what’s directly in front of them,” said assistant professor Mingmin Zhao. “This capability is essential to help robots and autonomous vehicles make safer decisions in real time.”
Radio signals have much longer wavelengths than visible light – something traditionally seen as a disadvantage for imaging because it limits resolution. However, Zhao’s team realised that...