Researchers have created a fabric that acts like a camera, made of tiny light-sensitive fibers that turn light waves into images. Says lead researcher Yoel Fink:
"While the current version of these fabrics can only image nearby objects, it can still see much farther than most shirts can" [LiveScience].
Fink notes that the technology does away with one of the most basic camera components: the lens. Just like in an eye, cameras use a curved lens to focus the light waves reflected off an object, but the system contains
an Achilles' heel: Damage the lens, and you lose or diminish the ability to see [ScienceNOW Daily News].
By getting rid of the lens, researchers say they can develop a technology that is less vulnerable to damage--if one part of the fabric gets damaged, the rest can still function.
"We are saying, 'instead of a tiny, sensitive object [for capturing images], ...
