Smart Glass Could Offer a New Route to Machine Vision

A new type of smart glass, developed by a team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, leverages optical reflection to recognize images without requiring sensors, circuits, internet connection, or external power sources. Everything needed for image recognition is condensed into single pieces of glass. The technology could be used someday to embed facial recognition in smartphones. The glass distinguishes among different images by distorting incoming lightwaves. Researchers Zongfu Yu (left), Ang Chen (center), and Efram Khoram (right) developed the concept for a smart glass that recognizes images without external power or circuits. Courtesy of Sam Million-Weaver. The glass works as a nanophotonic media that can perform nonlinear...