Visual microphone can pick up speech from a bag of potato chips

22 Aug 2014 • engadget.com

You may want to be careful about the conversations you hold in the future; if you’re near a window, someone might be listening in. A team of researchers from Adobe, Microsoft and MIT have developed a visual microphone algorithm that picks up audio by looking for microscopic vibrations in video footage. The technique exploits the rolling shutter effect in digital cameras (where the sensor reads pixels one row at a time) to detect sound-related movements that might otherwise be invisible; the only gear you need is a camera that can record at high frame rates. It’s good enough to capture singing from a bag of potato chips, and musical tones from a potted plant.

More real-life that sounds like it’s right out of a StarTrek episode.
“Yes, we can hear what they are saying around the corner - just scan the micro-vibrations coming off of that that potted plant in the corner with your tricorder.”