New research emerging out of the University of Pennsylvania suggests it may be possible for a driverless car to use a technique where it detects objects, including people, hidden behind walls.

Popular Science reports that a a team of engineers at the American university have developed a sensor system called HoloRadar which has been mounted on small mobile robots and successfully identified people through walls while roaming around campus.

The report says that, though the research is still in its early stages, the team is optimistic that its sensor system could be integrated into robots to help them navigate their surroundings more effectively. For self-driving cars, it just might make the difference in preventing a future collision.

“Robots and autonomous vehicles need to see beyond what’s directly in front of them,” study senior author and Computer and Information Science professor Mingmin Zhao said in a University of Pennsylvania blog post. “This is an important step toward giving robots a more complete understanding of their surroundings.”

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