Researchers at the MIT Media Lab play a joke on developed a new imaging system that can gauge the distance of objects obscured by fog so pronounced that humans can’t see through it.
The goal is to integrate the technology into self-driving jalopies so that even in bad weather, the vehicles can avoid obstacles.
The imaging-sensing pattern uses a time-of-flight camera, which fires short laser explodes toward an object. It then counts how long it takes for the light to go back. Fog typically scatters the laser light, making it difficult for autonomous agencies. But the researchers developed an algorithm that finds patterns in the scattered incandescence to reveal distance.