LiDAR is a go-to technology when it comes to driverless cars. But should it be?

Quantum computing is relatively new but is growing by leaps and bounds. Currently, there are more than 600 companies and more than 30 national labs and government agencies worldwide that are developing the technology. Its future’s so bright it’s got to wear shades – but are we ready for its inevitable rise?

Bright Ideas presents the most captivating news and innovations in optics and photonics. This week, NASA finally pins down a launch date for Artemis I Moon Mission, Luminar lidar hits the production lines, "optrodes" signal possible shift in development of prosthetic limbs. 

Queensland University of Technology robotics researchers working with Ford Motor Company have found a way to tell an autonomous vehicle which cameras to use when navigating.

Bright Ideas presents the most captivating news and innovations in photonics. This week, DARPA is asking industry to help outfit refueling aircraft with lasers to recharge UAS, an everlasting laser is built with Bose-Einstein Condensate, and nanoscale flying robots with light-up wings are explored as light-based communicators.

At Photonics West 2017, Frank Weiss with G&H offered practical advice on considerations one should take into account when specifying fiber optics for deployment in rugged environments, including life cycle requirements, the pitfalls of underspecifying, and the potential headaches that can be involved in not paying close attention to export control parameters.

The pco.dimax cs camera with its true 12-bit performance is ideal for providing crisp, brilliant color images for all car safety testing applications involving onboard, offboard, and sled testing. This high speed video presents car safety testing situations recorded with the pco.dimax cs camera.

In this video, one of Zygo’s applications engineers provides a demonstration of the ZeGage^TM 3D optical surface profiler as it measures the roughness of the surface of a sealing valve used in the automotive industry. That might sounds fairly unremarkable, but check out how the system does on a rickety plastic table in a machine shop full of noise and vibration.

John Franks of Umicore tells about the lenses the company provides for applications involving automotive night vision, defense, security and surveillance, thermography, and personal thermal vision. He also shares some exciting news about new catalog lenses that are currently available.

Photron has launched two new cameras over the last few months: the FASTCAM SA-Z and the Mini UX100. North American sales manager Tim Callenbach tells us about them and their role in applications involving ballistics, off-board automotive testing, shockwaves, broadcasting, fluidics, welding, materials science, plasma and arc studies, and more.