Coming soon, an X-ray vision gun

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Coming soon, an X-ray vision gunBy Ben FarmerLast Updated: 6:54am GMT 17/01/2008 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=UCWEYEPNBB241QFIQMFCFF4AVCBQYIV0?xml=/news/2008/01/17/nxray117.xml The superhero power to see through walls will soon be within the grasp of ordinary mortals, thanks to a new hand-held X-ray scanner. Police admit drunks not deterred by CCTV Inventors hope the gadget could revolutionise police work and Customs searches by allowing officers to seek out contraband, weapons, bombs or hidden people. An artist impression of how a police or Customs officer could use the LEXID X-ray scannerThe LEXID device sends out low-level X-rays which are collected in a lens based on the design of a lobster's eye.Rick Shie, senior vice-president of its American inventors, Physical Optics Corporation, said that lobsters' eyes, which are able to see in deep, murky water, use thousands of tiny squares to focus by reflection rather than the bending or refraction of light like human eyes.Mr Shie said: "The LEXID works by emitting a low-level X-ray and then the lobster eye interprets what is returned and the image is produced on a screen. "We are still in the research stage but have conducted successful trials and the government is keen to test it. "It can detect bombs, contraband or people and will show up anything within a couple of metres." America¡¯s Department of Homeland Security is already understood to be interested in the device for use in its war on terror. While the images produced by the scanner are not crystal-clear, they are sharp enough to reveal a cache of weapons or parts of a bomb. Once the device is on the market, its inventors predict it will also be useful to pest control companies, construction workers, airport staff and archaeologists. Mr Shie said: "Down the line we hope that these will be available to anyone and are likely to cost several thousand pounds. "They could be used to find wires within walls and they have a variety of security uses. "It could find drugs or arms hidden in containers, and a robotic version could be used to see whether there are bombs in car boots. "We think we will be able to improve the image by four or five times and although we are still in the research stage we hope it can be trialled by the government in a year."