Reading the twist in reflected light used to need a lab bench of spinning filters. A Harvard spinout shrank it onto a flat chip, and it is aiming straight at the dot projector behind Face ID.
Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces turn ordinary walls and windows into programmable radio reflectors. US patents on them are breaking out, and the leader is not Huawei. It’s Qualcomm, by more than 3-to-1, and its claims reveal a bet on positioning, not coverage.
