MIT have come up with a camera which radiates EM at terahertz frequencies which can read a bit of a closed book thanks to the difference in reflectivity between ink and paper.  This is less a spy device than a way to read ancient scrolls and parchments which could disintegrate at a touch.  The camera can only penetrate to a depth of about nine pages before the clarity of the image degrades and the text can no longer easily be read.  The software the camera communicates with is able to recognize the letters and words in the images, it is not the scientists who read the manuscripts directly.  The Inquirer points out that this means it is also capable of defeating captchas, an impressive feat in and of itself though one with possible negative repercussions.

"IMAGINE IF you could read a book like Superman. Well, thanks to research by MIT and Georgia Tech, X-ray vision could be the next big thing in reading after the team created a camera that can read closed books."

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