The interwebs has reduced an individual’s privacy, there is no doubt about that.
But, when it’s online, in most instances, the person given up their privacy, is a willing participant.
However, a scientist at MIT, Abe Davis has discovered that, with the right equipment, there is no such thing are privacy. Not even in a sound proofed room!
It’s a fundamental of physics that objects vibrate from sounds.
Using an algorithm he developed, Davis has been able to reconstruct music and speech from video footage of things like plants and potato chip bags by analysing the vibrations of these objects.
The video is not of the person speaking or singing, it is of the plant or, the chip packet. The objects were in sound proofed rooms.
It’s a fascinating leap forward but also one that is a little scary. Now, don’t think you can try this at home. The video has to be shot at incredible high speeds, higher than any normal consumer camera.
So, it seems like sign language is the way to go, if you want your secrets to be, just that.
The visual microphone: Passive recovery of sound from video
[videoframe][/videoframe]
