See through clothing, analyze chemicals without touching them, and communicate in nanoseconds – these are just some of the new things our smart devices can do, thanks to terahertz frequency waves, or t-wavez as they are known in the industry.

It’s astounding to think that, only six years ago, t-wavez were new, and although promising, not very powerful; just like lasers and LEDs, when they were first invented. Now, technology for producing the ultra high speed chips has also accelerated beyond initial expectations, making it possible to embed them in everyday devices, like watches, glasses, headsets, phones and cameras.

The magic lies in the fact that, unlike traditional WiFi radio signals, t-wavez can easily penetrate solid objects, just like X-rays, but without the radiation health concerns. So your wearables can give you X-ray and night vision, warn you about contaminated food or harmful pollutants, and communicate even when you’re in the basement parking lot. Superpowers indeed!

Beyond personal devices, there are all sorts of uses for t-wavez in industry; think about sensors for checking soda drinks, after they’ve been bottled, or spotting counterfeit goods and art forgeries. From high speed scanning of banknotes, to verifying gold coins, nothing escapes those t-wavez.

Ultimately though, it’s the business opportunities that have got companies excited. Forget about 5G internet and MRI scanners. A raft of startups and spinoffs are touting brand new applications and business models, from handheld medical diagnosis to ‘personal space analysis’ and ultra wideband local field transactions – whatever that means!

And of course, mobile computing just got an exponential boost too.