Important Innovations

  Spot the RoboDog on Duty to Monitor & Protect Pompei's Ancient Ruins                                                                                                     Source:  Pompei New Tech Guarding Ancient History This is a fascinating case of highly advanced robotic, AI, drone and laser technologies being deployed to guard and protect ancient, historical ruins dating back more than 2,000 years.  Famous robot dog Spot, created by US based Boston Robotics and now owned by Hyundai, is deployed by Italy's Archeological Park of Pompei to roam around the ruins to inspect and monitor the condition of the famous archeological structures. Robotic Patrols for Data Collection Spot is a quadruped robot with great dexterity and AI intelligence.  He is able to travel on different and difficult types of terrain as well as to maneuver and squeeze in and out of difficult locations.  At Pompei, Spot is monitoring and gathering data on the ruins for comparative studies and possible in

  Austin Russell's Luminar Technologies                                                Source:  Austin Russell Autonomous Driving Tech with Lasers Leading the Way This morning, 25 year old entrepreneur Austin Russell woke up a billionaire.  His company Luminar Technologies of Florida went public yesterday on the Nasdaq.  By the end of day, it hit $22.98 a share with a market value of $7.8 billion.  Russell founded the company at the age of 17.  He owns more than 100 million shares and his net worth overnight skyrocketed to $2.4 billion. He has created lidar sensor technology that uses lasers to power autonomous vehicles.  His technology is considered breakthrough.  Forbes is calling Russell the world's youngest, self-made billionaire. Lidar & Laser Tech with Big Investors Backing It Luminar Technologies' (LAZR) lidar tech utilizes lasers to bounce off the car's surroundings and lets it see where it is going.  It provides 360 degree surroundings' intelligence to

Latest Brilliant Idea from Tesla's Elon Musk Source:  Tesla Patent Filing Source: Tesla Virtual Light Show Around Your Car Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk has filed for a patent on his latest idea:  replacing car windshield wipers with laser beams.  The billionaire engineer, who also founded and is the CEO of SpaceX, has big plans for this laser innovation.  His first goal is to replace windshield wipers with laser beam wipers. Light Technology The system uses pulsed lasers and detection circuitry to identify debris on the windshield and direct a laser to remove it.  It calibrates the amount of laser light needed to do the job.  According to the patent application the system is sensitive and smart enough to differentiate wanted items like a car inspection sticker and not remove it. Additional Uses In addition to keeping car windshields clean and clear, the system can be deployed to remove dirt from cameras that direct autonomous cars.  It can also

Disruptive New Technologies Source:  Jenoptik Lasers, Imaging and Optics They call it Optics Valley, the region around Jena, Germany in the eastern part of the country. It's the headquarters for Jenoptik, a multinational supplier of optical products, lasers and imaging equipment.  It's disruptive new technology that the government of Angela Merkel is encouraging particularly in the eastern region of Germany. Eastern versus Western Germany The eastern region of Germany has received $2 Trillion in cash infusions over the past three decades to stimulate its economic base.  Still, it lags in economic output per capita by three-quarters when compared to the western region of Germany. New, Silicon Valley New disruptive technologies like those being produced by Jenoptik appear to be the answer.  In the case of Jenoptik the local university is a key source of talent.  Jena has 110,000 residents; 22,000 of which are students.  This is a region of high productivity and inn

Bennu - Spinning Space Rock Source:  NASA NASA Probe NASA's OSIRIS- REx  mission arrived at the spinning, diamond shaped asteroid Bennu earlier this year.  It has just started relaying images of it. This spinning image was captured by an advanced laser built into OSIRIS.  It shows how dangerous the rocky surface is.  The space rock is so packed with debris at the surface level, NASA hasn't been able to determine where to land a probe on the asteroid. Diamond Shaped Rock in the Sky The laser paints a 3D picture of the rock surface that it's bouncing off and provides NASA a detailed glimpse of the rocky surface. Selecting where to briefly land the OSIRIS probe to collect samples is critical.  Landing in an area with too much debris and high rocky cliffs could destroy the mission. The laser images indicate there aren't many clear areas on the rock to land.  At any rate, OSIRIS will orbit Bennu for the rest of the year before attempting the landing which may be

Laser Innovation for the US Military Source:  Raytheon HELWS MRZR Raytheon's Laser Shooting ATV It's a powerful laser on a dune buggy for the US Military.  Raytheon's HELWS MRZR laser-shooting dune buggy, all terrain vehicle. Once the human operator confirms the target, a fiber optic electric laser fires a controlled beam that instantly destroys the target. Battery or Electric Powered A simple battery charge enables 30 blasts.  If there's an electrical hookup, the magazine can last indefinitely.  This laser weapon developed by Raytheon for the US military has been cited as one of the most important innovations of 2018.  Raytheon has mounted the laser on a Polaris ATV.  For more laser and other energy news, go to my colleague Ed Kane's Amazon Author Page  amazon.com/author/ekane

Military's Incoming Laser Arsenal Source:  USAF Image Top Laser Gun Top US Air Force officials want to start arming USAF F-15 fighter jets with high powered laser weapons in the early 2020's.  They plan to use SUPER LASERS with 150 kilowatts of power.  That would be capable of destroying an incoming missile on its the side, where it's most vulnerable.  By focusing the beam on the target, it rapidly heats the inside of the missile causing it to explode in mid-air.  It takes just a few seconds. US Army's Mobile Laser for Tanks For the Army, Lockheed Martin's developed a 100 kilowatt, mobile laser that can take out a drone 500 meters away.  It locks its invisible beam on the target and destroys it in seconds.  It's being prepped for Army tanks and will be field-tested in 2022. Increasing Laser Power Changing the Face of War Experts forecast widespread use of lasers by the military in the 2020's.  The high energy laser systems can be mobile, are r

Power Beaming is an Emerging Disruptive Technology Source: Silent Falcon UAS Technologies -Silent Falcon California-based Silent Falcon UAS Technologies is partnering with the Pentagon's Advanced Research Projects Agency -DARPA -  to implement laser power beaming for its solar-electric powered drones.  Silent Falcon drones can fly non-stop 6 hours using batteries and solar energy. They are the world's first solar electric, long range, long endurance unmanned aircraft system or UAS. DARPA wants to make the flight time much longer by topping off the batteries via laser beams from the ground.  DARPA officials say they're right on the brink of delivering this disruptive technology. Endless Uses for Endless Flights What DARPA wants is drones capable of indefinite flight.  The drones would engage in sequences of flying and flying while charging from a high powered laser beam directed from the ground.  There would be no need to land and refuel.  This emerging technology

What's New Under the Sun Source:  DARPA The Silent Falcon Laser Powered Drones DARPA, the US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency, is ramping up a program to power drones solely by lasers.  It's part of the program that created The Silent Falcon, a solar electric, unmanned aircraft system that uses laser power. The Silent Falcon The Silent Falcon is designed for long range, long endurance military missions.  It uses solar arrays to charge its batteries and power its motors, avionics and payloads. Never Ending Flights DARPA is planning a test to demonstrate the feasibility of recharging Silent Falcon's batteries onboard, inflight by using a powerful laser.  The light energy transmitted by a ground based laser will be received by photovoltaic receiving arrays in the aircraft's vertical tail.  This will enable indefinitely long flights and eliminate the need to land to refuel.  DARPA expects to deliver this system to the US military in t

Tech That Zaps with a Silent, Carbonizing Beam It's straight out of Star Wars but it's real.  Chinese researchers have developed a laser gun that can set a target on fire from 1/2 mile away.  It's called the ZKZM-500.  And, it's a 15mm caliber assault rifle that weighs 6.6 pounds.  According to the South China Morning Post, it's ready for production. Immense Fire Power and Laser Tech The laser gun can fire more than 1000 laser shots, with each lasting up to 2 minutes.  It produces a silent, invisible energy beam making it a stealth weapon that would be very difficult to spot or trace. Powered by Lithium Battery and "Non-Lethal" The gun is powered by a rechargeable lithium battery very similar to what's found in a smart phone.  According to the Chinese government, it's a "non-lethal" weapon as it was not designed as lethal.  At any rate, it's breakthrough tech to be aware of that is supposed to be sold only to Chinese police

Tiny, Laser Powered and Wireless Flier University of Washington mechanical engineers have cracked the code on tiny, flying robots.  Their creation RoboFly is the first tiny robot to fly free, untethered to a power source.  It's remarkable tech so tiny it can sit on your finger and then takeoff powered by laser light. Teaching RoboFly to Smell The University of Washington team has a goal and mission for RoboFly.  It's tiny and highly maneuverable.  They want to teach it to smell.  So that it can fly into crevices and detect, for instance, the smell of gas.  In effect, it's a tiny search robot that initially through smell can serve as an early warning system that there's a gas leak. Tech on the Fly This flying robot is just like its insect inspiration.  It has delicate, transparent wings.  It contains a photovoltaic cell that converts laser light into electric power that lets it fly.  A microcontroller in an onboard circuit acts as a brain.  It sends pulses of v