Mercedes-Benz plans a limited launch of its Drive Pilot system in 2024, the first to market with a Level 3 autonomous driving system. LiDAR is playing an instrumental role in the progression to Level 3 autonomy, aided by the unsung hero: LiDAR filters.

LiDAR – is there anything it can’t do? Invented in the 1960s on the heels of the invention of the laser, LiDAR became commercially viable in the late 1980s. Today, it’s omnipresent, allowing us to do things we’ve never seen before in ways we never imagined.

This year’s batch of Nobel Laureates all seem to be fine scientists, researchers, authors, and leaders who don’t seem to have anything to do with Halloween. But don’t worry, we found some past award winners who do!

Infrared is used at the border for surveillance, detecting people or vehicles crossing the border, and detecting disguises at security checkpoints. Could it have helped take down the Maple Mafia?

Rain sensors play a critical role in the automotive industry, enhancing safety while driving. Optical coatings, thin layers applied to optical components to control light reflection, transmission, and absorption, help rain sensors do their thing.

Transducers are electro-mechanical devices that convert electrical energy to mechanical energy or vice versa. A well known and widely used transducer is the so-called "voice coil" transducer that is based on electromagnetic principles and finds applications in speakers and sub-woofers.

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.