16 Articles
ETC
Velodyne's new lidar has 128 lasers, makes future look like Neuromancer

It can support Level 5 autonomous driving at highway speed

Velodyne announces the VLS-128 lidar system, with enough range and resolution to outperform a human.

US Army's 'Phaser' could fry entire drone swarms in a volley

It fires microwaves from a satellite dish. Sorry for the letdown, Star Trek fans.

Directed-energy weapons and drone swarms are the future of warfare. Watch the Army use one to effectively and quickly kill the other.

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Auto supplier wants to make LiDAR cheaper for automakers

The LiDAR units installed on the first generation of Google's self-driving cars cost around $75,000.

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This awesome 1000-watt laser tool makes rust disappear

Who wouldn't want to clean with lasers?

Unfortunately, technology like this doesn't come cheap.

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US Air Force could have laser-equipped fighters by 2020

America's fighters are "a lot closer" to fitting laser weapons than people think, Air Force Gen. Hawk Carlisle said.

ETC
Self-driving cars can be fooled by fake signals

You'd think that self-driving cars would be most vulnerable to remote hacks, but the biggest danger may come from someone nearby with a handful of cheap electronics.

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Army, Air Force fit MRAP with freaking mine-clearing lasers

The US Army and Air Force are preparing a new MRAP vehicle that's capable of detonating IEDs from 1,000 feet away using laser beams.

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Watch the US Navy test an 'operational' laser weapon

Freaking laser beams. The US military has been fiddling about with beam weapons for years, but with this latest test, the Navy claims it has an operational weapon on its hands.

Official
Audi R8 LMX has frickin' lasers for headlights

It might look like just another Audi R8, but Ingolstadt tells us this one is different: it is the limited edition Audi R8 LMX (click image above to enlarge) with laser-enhanced LED high-beam headlights. Audi introduced the laserlight technology on its R18 E-tron Quattro LMP1 race car and then

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Audi promises production laser headlights

Audi is showing off new laser headlight technology this week at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show on its Audi Sport Quattro Laserlight Concept, and most intriguingly, the automaker has plans to use the long-range lighting on production vehicles. Audi CEO Rupert

One Simple Request: BMWs With Laser Beams Attached To Their Heads

BMW recently dazzled us with their i3 and i8 EV concepts. From the concepts' gullwing doors to their tinted glass greenhouses, you may have been too distracted to notice the white glow and seemingly impossible shape of the headlamps. They're unlike any we've ever seen.

BMW working on frickin' laser beams for headlights

Are you bored with the recent rash of LED headlights, tailights and daytime running lamps? BMW might just have something for you, then, because it's working on a new way to illuminate your commute. We're talking about lasers here people... the future is (almost) now!

Humvee with Boeing Laser Avenger blasts UAVs

Remember those Saturday morning cartoons from when you were a kid, where futuristic soldiers battled with laser guns? Well if you were wondering what ever happened to that future we were promised, it's here. Boeing's Direct Energy Systems project recently concluded a test in the New Mexico desert where the Humvee-mounted Laser Avenger system successfully shot down three unmanned aerial v

Ridding the world of fossil fuels by MAGIC: the Magnesium Injection Cycle

Tokyo Institute of Technology Professor Takashi Yabe has demonstrated a process called the Magnesium Energy Cycle. This cycle calls upon "MAGIC" to perform its power generation... really! The process is called the MAGnesium Injection Cycle, which produces steam, hydrogen and magnesium oxide. The hydrogen is burned to c