Techdirt. Stories filed under "lasers" Easily digestible tech news... http://www.techdirt.com/ en-us Techdirt. Stories filed under "lasers"http://www.techdirt.com/images/td-88x31.gifhttp://www.techdirt.com/ Tue, 21 May 2013 17:00:00 PDT DailyDirt: Weapons In The Sky Joyce Hung http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110311/01552013459/dailydirt-weapons-sky.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110311/01552013459/dailydirt-weapons-sky.shtml
  • The $1.8 billion prototype Unmanned Combat Air System demonstrator was recently launched into the air from a catapult. This marked the first-ever catapult launch of a drone from the flight deck of an aircraft carrier. [url]
  • The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, the most advanced stealth fighter jet in history, seems to have a problem with suffocating its pilots during normal flight. Since 2008, pilots would frequently and inexplicably suffer from what appeared to hypoxia -- in one case, a pilot hit a tree while landing and didn't even realize it. The cause of the problem was only recently identified as being due to a faulty valve on the pilots' life-support vest. You'd think that after spending almost $80 billion on these planes, it wouldn't have taken them almost five years to figure this out. [url]
  • After 16 years and billions of dollars, the "Airborne Laser" project -- a 747 jumbo-jet equipped with a powerful laser that can shoot missiles out of the sky -- has finally been scrapped. Cost prohibitive and impractical, the Airborne Laser would likely have cost $92,000/hour to fly if it had worked. [url]
    • If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.

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    ]]>     urls-we-dig-up http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20110311/01552013459     Sat, 6 Apr 2013 09:00:00 PDT Awesome Stuff: Lasers, Infrared And Photons Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/blog/innovation/articles/20130405/22313822607/awesome-stuff-lasers-infrared-photons.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/blog/innovation/articles/20130405/22313822607/awesome-stuff-lasers-infrared-photons.shtml
  • Lasertag has been around for a while but a bunch of students (high school?) have tried reinventing it for the modern era, using infrared devices that are more stealthy and have some advantages over the old game. First, they have a system of LEDs that will light up and show how many hit points you have left when hit, and second is that pretty much any IR device can act as a "gun." I'll be honest that I was never a huge lasertag guy, but a project that involves students building something cool seems pretty awesome. Of course, lasertag has always been misnamed, since I'm pretty sure it's always been IR devices rather than lasers, but it's cool to see how it's being reimagined by some students.
    The project is definitely still a work in progress and looks fairly crude at the moment, but many of the rewards involve sending you the schematics to build your own out of various household items.
  • Okay, you say that's unfair and you want real lasers? How about the Blue Laser Lamp. While they talk about its use for home theaters and outdoors, it really does seem most likely to be useful as a nightlight of some sort. It also has a vibe that suggests that this could be the next lava lamp. Something that stoned college kids think looks awesome, but has little functional practicality. Still, it's a unique design, and I figured some folks out there might appreciate it.
    The early bird pricing ($35) sold out quickly, and the project has gained a huge amount of support pretty quickly, though it still has a ways to go before reaching its goal. Given the time left, however, I doubt it will have much trouble getting there.
  • Finally, perhaps something a bit more useful. The first time I ever got to "play" with a 3D scanner was in 1997 when I took a class with Donald Greenberg (who I later went on to work for and consult with), one of the pioneers in 3D computer graphics and the Director of Cornell's Program for Computer Graphics. He had a massive 3D scanner in his lab, and I got to be the guinea pig in our class, getting my head scanned. Even though I recognize standard technology trends in which products get cheaper as they get much better, it still seemed ridiculous to think that there'd be a day not that far in the future where personal home 3D scanners were possible and reasonably priced. There's been plenty of talk about 3D printers, but less attention has been paid to the scanning side. So it's cool to see the Photon 3D Scanner, which is an attempt to make an affordable home 3D scanner.
    The early birds sold out at $349 and $399, but everyone else can jump in at the $449 level if you feel the desperate need to scan things in 3D in your home any time soon.
    • And that's it for this week -- and a special thanks to folks who have started submitting examples of crowdfunded "awesome stuff." It's really helpful, since there are so many interesting projects out there these days.

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    ]]>     beam-it http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20130405/22313822607     Wed, 28 Dec 2011 17:00:00 PST DailyDirt: Defend Yourself! (Or Give Peace A Chance...) Michael Ho http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110311/01463513449/dailydirt-defend-yourself-give-peace-chance.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110311/01463513449/dailydirt-defend-yourself-give-peace-chance.shtml folks either "like" or "really hate" holiday songs (and that Baby Boomers are still in control of popular holiday music). In any case, if you received a shiny new "Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle" last weekend, here are some other advanced weapons that you might shoot your eye out with. By the way, StumbleUpon can recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

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    ]]>     urls-we-dig-up http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20110311/01463513449     Wed, 19 Oct 2011 17:00:00 PDT DailyDirt: Bioengineered Microbes Are Growing Our Way Michael Ho http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090512/1703444851/dailydirt-bioengineered-microbes-are-growing-our-way.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090512/1703444851/dailydirt-bioengineered-microbes-are-growing-our-way.shtml
  • The evolution machine is just a prototype right now, but it could speed up genetic engineering projects with directed and automated mutations for microbes. One of the projects for the evolution machine would be to create an organism that was immune to all viruses. What could possibly go wrong with that? [url]
  • Single-cell biological lasers have been created with green fluorescent protein and human embryonic kidney cells. It's not sharks with lasers attached to their heads, but it's a start. [url]
  • The technique of steganography by printed arrays of microbes (SPAM) sounds like the nerdiest way to send a message. Using bacteria to encode secret messages could also be another interesting method for lots of copies keeps stuff safe (LOCKSS). [url]
  • To discover more interesting biological curiosities, check out what's currently floating around the StumbleUpon universe. [url]  
    • By the way, StumbleUpon can recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

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    ]]>     urls-we-dig-up http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20090512/1703444851     Tue, 26 Jul 2011 17:00:00 PDT DailyDirt: More Modern Musical Instruments Michael Ho http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110712/15294915063/dailydirt-more-modern-musical-instruments.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110712/15294915063/dailydirt-more-modern-musical-instruments.shtml cool toys that aren't too pricey, but maybe technology could help make playing instruments easier and cheaper. Here are a few musical gadgets that might fit the bill. By the way, StumbleUpon can recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

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    ]]>     urls-we-dig-up http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20110712/15294915063     Fri, 27 May 2011 17:00:00 PDT DailyDirt: Making Popcorn In Modern Times Michael Ho http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110120/18344312751/dailydirt-making-popcorn-modern-times.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110120/18344312751/dailydirt-making-popcorn-modern-times.shtml
  • Movie theaters used to use coconut oil for making popcorn. And now, coconut oil is trying to regain a healthy reputation. Apparently, virgin coconut oil is okay in moderation -- and it's the partially hydrogenated coconut oil that'll get ya. [url]
  • Popping a single kernel of corn with some lasers is probably not the safest or easiest way to make popcorn. Remember: do not look directly at laser with remaining eye. [url]
  • As a reminder, making popcorn using cellphones was just a marketing hoax. It's also not possible to cook an egg using your cellphone. [url]
  • To discover more food-related links, check out what's floating around in StumbleUpon. [url]  
    • By the way, StumbleUpon can also recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

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    ]]>     urls-we-dig-up http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20110120/18344312751     Fri, 22 Apr 2011 17:00:00 PDT DailyDirt: Ubiquitous Sensors Are Getting Kinda Useful Michael Ho http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110206/19253612979/dailydirt-ubiquitous-sensors-are-getting-kinda-useful.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110206/19253612979/dailydirt-ubiquitous-sensors-are-getting-kinda-useful.shtml
  • Collecting data from a wide variety of sensor feeds could become a useful service -- if only there were a standard format for sensor data and all that data turned out not to be junk. Massive amounts of garbage in, garbage out.... [url]
  • Ground-based lasers could be used to map the Earth's magnetic field by exciting sodium atoms in the atmosphere and watching them fluoresce with telescopes. And this technique could be used to find underground oil deposits without using satellites to map fluctuations in the Earth's magnetic field. [url]
  • British and Russian scientists should probably take a look at the previous link before they launch two satellites that measure the Earth's magnetic field fluctuations from space in order to anticipate earthquakes. Predicting earthquakes would be an awesome ability, but it's not certain there's even a correlation between earthquakes and changes the Earth's magnetic field. [url]
  • You could contribute towards the deployment of 600 Geiger Counter devices in Japan -- if you donate to a Kickstarter project that aims to collect and publish the radiation data. The raw data will be published under Creative Commons 0 license. [url]
  • To discover more interesting science-related stuff, check out what's currently floating around the StumbleUpon universe. [url]  
    • By the way, StumbleUpon can recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

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    ]]>     urls-we-dig-up http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20110206/19253612979     Wed, 13 Apr 2011 17:00:00 PDT DailyDirt: Weapons Of Some Destruction Michael Ho http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110112/16182912642/dailydirt-weapons-some-destruction.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110112/16182912642/dailydirt-weapons-some-destruction.shtml
  • Set your flashlight to "stun" your enemies -- there's a stun ray gun that incapacitates with a really really bright light. It's not even a laser, but it causes "the inverse of blindness" -- disorienting a person from 200 feet away. Just hope that your attackers aren't wearing sunglasses..? [url]
  • A green laser can be used to temporarily blind pirates on the open water. Sunglasses won't stop these lasers, but maybe more pirates will start wearing an eye patch to save one eye from this laser-induced blindness. [url]
  • The US Navy is testing a new high energy laser that can destroy small boats at sea. Now they just need to put these lasers on sharks... [url]
  • Apparently, a cyber-army could be built with just $100 million in 2 years. But an experienced spammer could probably take down that cyber army with a fraction of those resources. [url]
  • To discover more interesting war-related stuff, check out what's currently floating around the StumbleUpon universe. [url]  
    • By the way, StumbleUpon can recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

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    ]]>     urls-we-dig-up http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20110112/16182912642     Wed, 23 Feb 2011 17:00:00 PST DailyDirt: Spaceships On The Drawing Board Michael Ho http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101230/15513212474/dailydirt-spaceships-drawing-board.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101230/15513212474/dailydirt-spaceships-drawing-board.shtml
  • As an alternative propulsion technology, lasers could help boost payloads into space. The nice part is that such a system could be safer since there wouldn't necessarily need to be explosive fuels on board, but on the downside, it would be limited to cargo that weighs about 200 pounds. [url]
  • NASA's Nautilus-X plans would create a re-usable deep-space vehicle with inflatable components. It would be constructed in space over about 5 years and cost at least $3.7 billion... and it was designed to be affordable. [url]
  • The Russians are developing a re-usable space plane that might match the US Air Force's X-37B. Is there really a need for a nationalistic space race nowadays? [url]
  • To discover more links on space exploration, check out what's floating around in StumbleUpon universe. [url]  
    • By the way, StumbleUpon can also recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

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    ]]>     urls-we-dig-up http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20101230/15513212474     Tue, 3 Aug 2010 14:59:00 PDT The Force Is Strong In Public Ridicule: Lucas Backs Down From Threats Against Wicked Lasers Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100803/02250010467.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100803/02250010467.shtml threatening Wicked Lasers over one of their recent lasers. The problem wasn't anything the company had done specifically, but the fact that various blogs, in talking about the laser, had compared it to the infamous lightsaber from Star Wars. That didn't make much sense. It's not like if you make a fictional product that you get control over anything remotely like it in the real world. Lucasfilm was widely ridiculed for the C&D, and Wicked Lasers ended up auctioning off the C&D to raise funds for a legal fight. However, after seeing all the negative publicity, Lucasfilm backed down, amusingly pretending that Wicked Lasers had helped set the record straight:
    "We are aware that, during this time you have made several statements to the media insisting that your product is not intended to resemble a lightsaber and is not marketed by your company as either a lightsaber or as having any connection with 'Star Wars' or Lucasfilm."
    Yes, but it's also true that before the media storm Wicked Lasers still hadn't made any statements suggesting its laser resembled a lightsaber, and it was never marketed as being a lightsaber or having any connection to Star Wars or Lucasfilm. This is just Lucasfilm's attempt at gracefully admitting it made a mistake, while pretending something had "changed." Either way, chalk one up for public ridicule getting a company to back down on a questionable legal attack.

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    ]]>     your-skills-are-now-complete http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20100803/02250010467     Wed, 7 Jul 2010 11:37:29 PDT Can Laser Maker Be Blamed For Blogs Comparing Laser To Star Wars Lightsabers? Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100707/00151910094.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100707/00151910094.shtml Consumerist points us to an odd story, where George Lucas has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Wicked Lasers, saying that the company's Pro Arctic Laser is too similar in design to the infamous lightsaber from the Star Wars flicks. But here's where it gets a little odd. Wicked Lasers claims that it doesn't market the product as a toy and has never suggested or marketed it as being anything like a lightsaber. In fact, it appears that Lucas' complaint is that blogs like Gizmodo and DailyTech have referred to it as some form of "real life lightsaber," and that this is somehow the company's fault. As for the similarities, well, below is a marketing photo of the Pro Arctic alongside a photo from someone who's apparently collecting all of the lightsabers used in the Star Wars movies. There may be some loose similarities, but does this mean that no similar handles could ever be used on a laser-like device?
    The Pro Arctic (not a toy) laser from Wicked Lasers


    Some lightsabers from various Star Wars movies (courtesy of OohYeah Zone)
    I guess the argument is that if blogs are calling it a "lightsaber," that many people will make the similar leap. But that reasoning also seems to lead to troubling conclusions. Would it mean that no one could actually create a "lightsaber-like" device in reality without getting approval from George Lucas? That doesn't seem right...

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    ]]>     the-force-is-not-strong-with-this-one http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20100707/00151910094     Mon, 24 Mar 2008 00:25:58 PDT Columbia Professor Latest To Go On The Patent Offensive Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080321/162722617.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080321/162722617.shtml suing a bunch of companies at once rather than just one or two, as used to be standard. They do this because they fear that some type of patent reform is coming, either via Congress or the courts. So they want to get as many patent suits in as quickly as possible. The second trend is that, rather than taking patent infringement cases through the court system (which is bound by the recent precedents set by the Supreme Court that loosen patent rules), they use a loophole: taking patent infringement claims to the US International Trade Commission (ITC). The ITC has the authority, if it believes that infringement occurs, to block the import of infringing goods. The ITC doesn't need to pay attention to what the courts say, and doesn't need to wait for the USPTO to review a patent. It can simply decide infringement occurred and ban the import of the goods. This is, effectively, the equivalent of an injunction against the product (just the sort of thing the Supreme Court said should be used more cautiously).

    A Columbia professor has now picked up on both of these trends, getting the ITC to investigate 30 companies for violating her patents on LED and laser technologies. Among the companies investigated: Sony, LG Electronics, Hitachi, Toshiba, Panasonic, Motorola, Nokia, Pioneer, and Samsung. Whether or not these patents turn out to be valid, it's a cheap tactic to use the ITC rather than going to the courts to fight this battle.

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    ]]>     very-offensive http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20080321/162722617