Researchers at MIT have developed an unusual fabric made from light-sensitive fibers woven into layers. The resultant material essentially acts as a huge, flexible camera, able to capture images (albeit rudimentary ones) of whatever is near it.

"We are saying, 'instead of a tiny, sensitive object [for capturing images], let's construct a large, distributed system,'" said Yoel Fink, researcher leader and Associate Professor of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. "While the current version of these fabrics can only image nearby objects, it can still can see much farther than most shirts can," he added.

With funding coming from multiple sources notably including the Army Research Office and DARPA, the first applications will, surprise surprise, be military-based. But if this tech trickles down to the mainstream, it will redefine the term "fashion photographer."

via dvice