Xiaopeng Wang, a 25-year-old PhD student at Sydney University's telecommunication research group, has just completed successful trials of the device which uses electromagnetic waves to bounce information off walls.

"We can then process the waves to retrieve the information we want," said Mr Wang. "Then we reshape the wave so people can tell the shape of the object it has captured."

Mr Wang said that under the current model the technology can tell the shape and width of a human being.

Dr Zihuai Lin, a lecturer at the university's School of Electrical and Information Engineering, said that the breakthrough could have profound implications for natural disasters and emergencies.

The device will be able to detect human shapes buried under rubble.

Thousands of people went missing under tonnes of concrete after a 7.3 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal in April and more than 9000 people were killed. In August hundreds were injured after a massive explosion rocked the northern Chinese city of Tianjin.

"When people get buried under collapsed buildings, a device such as this one could pinpoint the precise location of the survivor and definitely speed up the rescue mission," said Dr Lin

Mr Wang said he had been fascinated by X-ray vision since he was a child growing up in a village next to the Great Wall of China.

"I suppose I have had a little bit of heroism in me since I was a kid. I wanted to be Superman, with super powers to protect the innocent, fight against crime and save lives."

"I envied Superman's X-ray eyes the most. I thought his ability to see through walls would have great value in the real world."

Mr Wang is now working on a smaller, more practical prototype of his invention, the current model requires two hands to hold it up.

He will have to navigate the privacy concerns of the legal system if the product is to have a wide release beyond emergency situations.

In January, US police and the FBI came under fire after they revealed they had been using a device known as a Range-R.

The device cannot visually represent what is behind walls but detects whether a building is occupied through picking up breathing and movement inside a house.

The US Supreme Court ruled that officers cannot use high tech sensors to tell if someone is home without obtaining a search warrant.