In this episode of Photonics Hot List…
Fiddler crabs are efficient in and out of water. Their field of view is more expansive than nearly any other similar animal. And now, they’re serving as models for future artificial vision systems. Find out how these semiterrestrial creatures are inspiring researchers in South Korea to potentially reshape the future of autonomous vehicles, smart cameras, and more.
Having as much detail as possible about the weather and atmosphere is crucial for accurate forecasts, ensuring people’s safety on land and in the air. But there are some aspects of weather that remain more complex. Learn how a team in China is expanding an existing laser detection technique to get a better grasp of what’s happening in the atmosphere.
A long time ago—billions of years, in fact—in our own galaxy, not far away, Earth was uninhabitable. Have you ever wondered exactly how it evolved into a planet that can support so many different species of life? Researchers in Australia wonder the same thing. But now they’re moving toward answering it. Explore how a new technique involving lasers and grains of beach sand could answer that question.
