Military jets need it now. Robots and cars will need something similar in the future: a rugged "vision" system that can produce sharp 3-D images of terrain contours and objects, day or night. This summer, researchers at MIT's Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, MA, made the first test flights of a 3-D laser imager that can do precisely that.

The new technology uses extremely fast infrared lasers and unique arrays of ultrasensitive light detectors. The laser-emitted light reflects off of objects, and the time it takes to return is measured by detectors, providing a 3-D image. The arrays capture 10,000 images per second and can detect even one photon, says Rick Heinrichs, physicist and group leader at Lincoln Laboratory.