Tag: Lasers

08 NOV

Why millions of lasers on a chip could be the future of lidar

Enlarge (credit: Ouster) Dozens of startups are working on lidar, a type of laser sensor that many experts see as essential for fully self-driving cars. In my view, one of the most interesting companies is called Ouster. I first wrote about Ouster back in May, when I explained how it was bucking an industry trend […]

27 AUG

No lasers or Linux hacks, but Better Call Saul remains one of TV’s techiest shows

Tech on TV: Better Call Saul. Click here for transcript. (video link) On the surface, nothing about Better Call Saul appears particularly innovative. Crime and legal dramas stand as one of TV’s oldest formats, and this one happens to be set in the near-past. The show can’t even draw on the latest headlines where the bleeding […]

08 JUL

NASA’s new climate science satellites switch on their lasers

NASA’s new climate-monitoring satellites, which SpaceX ferried to orbit in May, are almost ready to keep an eye on our planet’s ice sheets, atmosphere and ocean levels. On June 13th, the twin Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO) satellites switched on their lasers in search of one another for the first time. Those lasers […]

04 MAY

US military aircraft have been hit many times by lasers, possibly by China

Enlarge / U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Jonathan E. Dewitt, a forward air controller, assigned to Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment (BLT 2/6), 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), provides landing zone control to a section of MV-22B Osprey medium tilt-rotor aircraft, April 2, 2018. (credit: Cpl. Santino Martinez / US Marine Corps) US […]

02 MAY

Scientists create ultra-thin membrane that turns eyes into lasers

It will still be a while before scientists are able to harness Superman-like laser vision, but the technology is now closer than ever before thanks to a new development from the University of St Andrews. The team there have created an ultra-thin membrane laser using organic semiconductors, which is for the first time compatible with […]

05 MAR

Levi’s uses lasers to give your jeans an eco-friendly finish

You may like the thought of jeans with a worn-in finish, but that look frequently comes at a steep cost. It not only takes a long time to finish jeans (two to three pairs per hour), it frequently involves thousands of chemical formulations. Levi’s thinks there’s a faster and more environmentally responsible way. It recently […]