X-Ray Scanner For Android: Does It Really Exist?

While the latest Android phones have some very advanced and unusual technology, even Google’s advanced artificial intelligence can’t extract X-ray images from a smartphone camera, and that isn’t likely to be possible in the foreseeable future. Some Android phones have macro cameras and depth-sensing technology that goes a bit further than usual. There are, however, some accessories that include cameras and scanners that expand the range of information beyond what the human eye can see.

Most cameras have an imaging sensor that can see light frequencies classified as invisible since they don’t fall within the range that the average person can see. Filters are placed in front of the sensor to block infrared light, interfering with capturing the best visible light images. That means on nearly every smartphone available. The visible spectrum is all that can be seen. The rainbow of well-known colors starts with the lowest frequency, red, through orange, yellow and green, to the highest frequencies, blue and violet. Below red is infrared, and above violet is ultraviolet. X-rays occur at a higher frequency than even ultraviolet light and require more powerful equipment to be recorded.

While Huawei’s P50 Pocket can capture what it calls Ultra Spectrum Fluorescence photos that reveal plants and other objects as if viewed under a black light, as seen in this Tweet, most Android phones have fairly standard frequency response. Therefore any X-ray app found in the Google Play store will simply be simulating the appearance of the real thing. That might be fun, but there is no real value beyond that. However, it is possible to expand the range of light captured with accessories, such as a thermal camera from FLIR or a spectrometer from LinkSquare.

Android Thermal & Spectroscopy Images

FLIR is one of the most well-known thermal imaging camera manufacturers globally, supplying equipment to professionals in industrial, government, scientific and mechanical fields for many years. The company recently created a version that connects directly to an Android phone or an iPhone to capture and analysis of infrared images with a smartphone. A live view on the phone’s screen shows the false-color view representing the infrared range, corresponding to the thermal intensity. The temperatures can be shown, giving a visual readout of heat.

The LinkSquare spectrometer is a handheld device that connects to an Android phone or iPhone to reveal the nature of a material based on the frequencies contained in the light reflected from the surface. This is firmly in the scientific category. However, the Play Store app shows using it to identify the ripeness of fruit using the Brix scale, which measures the sugar content. Spectroscopy has many more applications, often used to identify atomic elements and molecular compounds in laboratories. To have this capability with a smartphone, even in a limited way, is quite interesting. While X-ray images aren’t possible with an Android phone yet, perhaps someone will make such an accessory in the future.

Source: Huawei, Flir, LinkSquare

About The Author

Alan Truly
(1136 Articles Published)

Alan is a Tech Writer living in Nova Scotia, Canada. A tech-enthusiast since his youth, Alan stays current on what is new and what is next. With over 30 years experience in computer, video and photo equipment, you can expect useful tips and insights in his writing. Alan has a degree in programming, many years focused on design, editing, and animation. A period of managing logistics and e-commerce operations for a mobile accessories company rounds out a diverse background. Alan is a true jack of all digital trades in this ever-changing computer-enriched world. To stay flexible in mind and in body, he practices yoga, light cardio, and eats a whole food diet, based on minimally processed plants.

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