Three physicists from UNC-Chapel Hill have applied for a patent for new X-ray technology, according to a filing Thursday.

The invention, a three-dimensional X-ray imaging system, will allow users to operate the system from an unmanned vehicle, such as a drone.

The patent application notes the technology could prove useful to bomb squads attempting to detect and diffuse explosives or other dangerous materials operators are unable to move.

Otto Z. Zhou, Jianping Lu and Pavel Chtcheprov were listed, respectively, as the inventors.

Zhou, the principal investigator of the Otto Zhou Research Group, is a distinguished professor in the UNC-CH physics department.

Lu is also a professor in the UNC-CH physics department. Chtcheprov is a graduate student within the same department.

A list of the researchers within the Otto Zhou Research Group can be found here.

The three originally applied for the patent in early May 2017.