Name: New video technology that reveals an object's hidden properties
Uploaded: 2015-05-05T15:15:01Z
Duration: 17 min 47 s
Description: Subtle motion happens around us all the time, including tiny vibrations caused by sound. New technology shows that we can pick up on these vibrations and actually re-create sound and conversations just from a video of a seemingly still object. But now Abe Davis takes it one step further: Watch him demo software that lets anyone interact with these hidden properties, just from a simple video.

Subtle motion happens around us all the time, including tiny vibrations caused by sound. New technology shows that we can pick up on these vibrations and actually re-create sound and conversations just from a video of a seemingly still object. But now Abe Davis takes it one step further: Watch him demo software that lets anyone interact with these hidden properties, just from a simple video.

New video technology that reveals an object's hidden properties

New imaging technology can detect subtle vibrations in everyday objects, making the invisible visible and even audible. By analyzing tiny motions in video—down to a thousandth of a pixel—researchers have recreated sounds like speech and music from silent footage of items as mundane as a bag of chips. This approach now goes further, enabling people to interact with objects in video and see realistic responses, as if poking or shaking them in real life. What was once invisible or untouchable becomes accessible through the lens of a simple camera.