Automotive News

  1. Bright Ideas — New Photonic Chip Yields Higher-Contrast Microscopy, OCT Imaging Goes Deeper Into Skin 12/8/2021

    Bright Ideas presents the most captivating news and innovations in photonics. This week, Chinese researchers presented a new planar photonic chip that doesn’t require a "bulky" condenser or special objective to conduct darkfield or total image reflection (TIR) microscopy. A new DARPA Young Faculty Award recipient is exploring a ne way to control the propagation of light that would enhance power efficiency and thereby improve communications technologies.  And, biomedical engineers have found a way to increase optical coherence tomography (OCT) depth through the skin by 50 percent.

  2. Bright Ideas — Defense Contractors Tasked With Taking Down Hypersonic Missiles, Record-Breaking Quantum Computer Tops 256 Qubits 11/24/2021

    Bright Ideas presents the most captivating news and innovations in photonics. This week, the Military Defense Agency picked three contractors to design a Glide Phase Interceptor prototype, a startup claimed its quantum computer has the most qubits (and the best platform), and an electro-topics grad student developed an optical filter that allows sensors and cameras to operate seamlessly in low and bright light situations. 

  3. Bright Ideas: 10/6/21 — 3D Hologram Display For Sub Warfare, UV LED Could Kill COVID-19 On Skin 10/6/2021

    Bright Ideas presents the most captivating news and innovations in photonics. This week, a UK-based firm claims it has made the world's smallest quantum computer at just four qubits, scientists are using terahertz radiation to measure ice thickness on prawns, and laser-interference structuring (LIS) could be a viable alternative to existing and environmentally-unfriendly corrosion protection methods. 

  4. Bright Ideas: 9/15/21 — DoD Gives $7.5M To HBCU, Lasers Used To Zap Bugs & Bird Poop 9/15/2021

    Bright Ideas presents the most captivating news and innovations in photonics. This week, scientists invented a clock 30 times more precise than an atomic clock (and split a $3 million prize for the feat), three new photonics institutes opened up, and rainbow road signs could one day hit the streets.

  5. Bright Ideas: 9/8/21 — Laser Beams Now Visible In Vacuum, Can Also Sharpen Blur In Space Pics 9/8/2021

    Bright Ideas presents the most captivating news and innovations in photonics. This week, Space X offers a reason for its quiet launch schedule, MIT researchers claim they can repair and redirect fiber optic cable data, and caterpillars show scientists just how disturbing LED light can be.

  6. Ibeo And SICK Bring Stimulus To The Industrial Sector With New 3D Solid-State LiDAR Sensor 1/14/2021

    A technology partnership between Hamburg-based automotive LiDAR specialist Ibeo Automotive Systems GmbH and SICK AG has resulted in a 3D solid-state LiDAR sensor for industrial applications.

  7. MAC Thin Films Introduces FrostFree™ Extended-Wavelength Conductive Coating For LiDAR Windows 7/30/2020

    MAC Thin Films (MTF) (www.macthinfilms.com), specialists in vacuum-deposited thin-film coatings on glass, introduces FrostFree™, a ground-breaking, highly-durable, conductive coating with extended operational wavelengths into the near-infrared (NIR). Ideal for light detection and ranging (LiDAR) applications, the new window heater coating, based on MTF’s proprietary technology, has defrosting capability and ultra-broadband transmittance while operating from the visible into the NIR spectrum.

  8. Exploiting Optics Opportunities In 3D Sensing — Scaling Challenges 6/19/2018

    This article reviews key ideas discussed at the recent CLEO Conference — specifically, at the OIDA Executive Forum on the Exploding Role of Optics in Sensing — held May 14, 2018 in San Jose, Calif. It also includes my own thoughts and observations.

  9. The Driverless Car Revolution Creates Massive Opportunities For Optics 4/9/2018

    “Perception is everything,” or so the saying goes. Indeed, technologically enabled perception — and the software required to make sense of the resultant data — is the vehicle to safe, reliable autonomous driving. And the optics industry holds the keys.

  10. Self-Driving Cars Could Use Lasers To See Around Blind Corners 3/8/2018

    Stanford University researchers have developed a laser-based system that can reproduce images of objects hidden from view. The technology can be used to enhance the safety of self-driving vehicles, as well as applied to serve other functions.