"Compared to other approaches, our non-line-of-sight imaging system provides uniquely high resolutions and imaging speeds," said research team leader Christopher A. Metzler from Stanford University and Rice University. "These attributes enable applications that wouldn't otherwise be possible, such as reading the license plate of a hidden car as it is driving or reading a badge worn by someone walking on the other side of a corner." In Optica, The Optical Society's journal for high-impact research, Metzler and colleagues from Princeton University, Southern Methodist University, and Rice University report that the new system can distinguish submillimeter details of a hidden object from 1 meter away. The system is designed to image small objects at very high resolutions but can be combined with other imaging systems that produce low-resolution room-sized reconstructions. "Non-line-of-sight imaging has important applications in medical imaging, navigation, robotics and defense," said co-author Felix Heide from Princeton University.