"MIT Develops Shiny Object Camera System for Seeing Around Corners"

MIT and Rice researchers have developed a computer vision system that uses reflections to transform shiny objects into "cameras," allowing users to see around corners or beyond obstructions. The system involves transforming shiny objects into radiance-field cameras, using the object's surface as a digital sensor to record reflected light from the surrounding environment in two dimensions. The researchers demonstrate that novel view synthesis is possible thanks to recovering the environment's radiance fields, allowing for depth and radiance estimation from the object to its surroundings. The work can open up possibilities in virtual item insertion and 3D perception.