Laser-Lit Cars
Engineers at Ford Motor Co. say taillights lit by lasers could lead to safer, more energy-efficient and better-looking automobiles. In an experimental design, fiber optics carry red light from a diode laser to a series of mirrors, which send the beam cascading across a 5-millimeter-thick sheet of acrylic. Reflective and refractive ridges direct the light outwards. Because they consume one-seventh the power of incandescent bulbs, lasers could prove useful in electric vehicles, says Ford lighting engineer Michael Marinelli. The thin acrylic would also allow designers to mold lights around contours. And since lasers flick on nearly instantaneously, Marinelli calculates drivers could see a car braking 0.2 seconds earlier, cutting highway stopping distance by 5 meters. Laser headlights are on the drawing board -but await development of cheap, powerful blue diode lasers.
Keep Reading
Most Popular

The hype around DeepMind’s new AI model misses what’s actually cool about it
Some worry that the chatter about these tools is doing the whole field a disservice.

The walls are closing in on Clearview AI
The controversial face recognition company was just fined $10 million for scraping UK faces from the web. That might not be the end of it.

A quick guide to the most important AI law you’ve never heard of
The European Union is planning new legislation aimed at curbing the worst harms associated with artificial intelligence.

These materials were meant to revolutionize the solar industry. Why hasn’t it happened?
Perovskites are promising, but real-world conditions have held them back.
Stay connected

Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.