Technology
developed to scan air travelers is being used to create a device that
can search for bedbugs in homes and hotel rooms, researchers say.
VisiRay of Corvallis, Oregon, has signed an agreement with Pacific
Northwest National Laboratory to create the devices, which would use
millimeter wave technology to allow inspectors to see through drywall
particle boards and view clear images of pests on the other side of a
wall. The company was started by graduate students from the University
of Oregon Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship. The agreement is part
of the Startup America initiative announced by the White House this year
to make licensing new technologies affordable for start-up companies.
The technology was initially developed with Federal Aviation
Administration grants to use radio waves to scan passengers. It is used
at 78 U.S. airports. The technology has also been licensed for
development of a device that could be used in stores to help shoppers
select clothing sizes by providing a 3-D holographic image of their
bodies.
