41

Seeing Around Corners Using Smartphone-Grade Lidar

This specific finding is minor, but its implications are not IMHO. From the article it appears the researchers consider this a discovery in effect.

If consumer hardware is already capable (in many settings) of reproducing what were formerly research-level and industry-grade techniques, it may be a transformation in more areas of technology than would be obvious. I am very curious to see if there will be further findings in this area.

24 minutes agomberlove

Smartphone grade lidar == FaceID ?

19 minutes agoaftbit

So this only works if you have walls opposite of this corner?

2 hours agoofrzeta

It seems to require a lidar reflective object. Likely more generally, the effectiveness lowers the less objects there are to bounce and return signal.

It could probably work with less accuracy/resolution against visible vehicles in the opposite lane, a hedgerow, postal box, pedestrian carrying a visible laptop and possibly synthesize all of these to improve its guess.

2 hours agolibria

The video thumbnail implies bouncing off the ground, not a wall. Not sure how the geometry works out for that

an hour agowongarsu

Why not just place a mirror at 45 degrees in the corner? That way you don't need the lidar but you can just look around the corner? It would also work better with the lidar.

4 hours agocuechan

I would be interested in seeing your visual mockups of how such a solution works on one of the article’s examples, like a car.

3 hours agodevmor

Every car just needs n number of mirrors on articulating joints and to sense any oncoming cars that need to see around a corner and then receive a command to reposition said mirror.