DELFT, Netherlands, Nov. 15, 2019 — Researchers from Delft University of Technology demonstrated a swarm of tiny drones equipped with optical sensors that can explore unknown environments completely by themselves. The concept, inspired by insect swarms, relies on numerous inexpensive robots with relatively limited sensing and computational techniques, which together are able to explore large areas with greater speed and efficiency than a single larger drone. “The biggest challenge in achieving swarm exploration lies at the level of the individual intelligence of the drones,” said Kimberly McGuire, a...Read full articleRelated content from Photonics MediaARTICLESDrone Using IoT Tech Could Lead to Earlier Detection of Forest FiresAn automatic flight system with real-time connectivity could help prevent large-scale forest fires by locating and detecting fires where and when they start and communicating this information to...Vision Spectra Autumn 2019 IssueNSF Grant to Advance Sensing and Imaging Technologies for Precision AgricultureWith a five-year, $26 million grant, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has established the Engineering Research Center for the Internet of Things for Precision Agriculture (ERC IoT4Ag). The...Vision Spectra Winter 2020 IssuePurdue Teams Unravel Mysterious Mediterranean IslandPurdue researchers used drones and lidar mapping systems to better understand the history of Dana Island, located off the southern coast of Turkey. Courtesy of Purdue University. WEST LAFAYETTE,...Photonics.com 11/21/2019Avalanche Photodiode Is High-Power and Eye-Safe for LidarA low-noise avalanche photodiode (APD) for 2-μm detection, developed by engineers at the University of Virginia (UVA) and the University of Texas-Austin (UT-Austin), could provide high-power,...Photonics Spectra August 2020 IssuePRODUCTS3D Lidar SystemThe SyMPL laser-based environmental sensing system from Mirrorcle Technologies Inc. expands the capabilities of microelectromechanical system (MEMS) mirrors by adding time-of-flight distance sensing....Photonics Spectra March 2020 IssueTime-of-Flight ModuleThe Helios™ Flex 3D Time-of-Flight (ToF) Module from LUCID Vision Labs Inc. is a robust, pre-calibrated system that can be integrated into embedded platforms for industrial and robotics...Photonics Spectra June 2020 IssueVision-Integrated Robotic SystemBasler AG and drag and bot Gmbh have announced a robotics system that integrates the Basler pylon Camera Software Suite with drag and bot’s software. The software simplifies the...Vision Spectra Winter 2019 IssueDefense & AerospaceDrawing mainly from the pages of Photonics Spectra and focusing on the last decade or so of developments, Defense & Aerospace offers an overview of these industries as only Photonics Media can...Promoted Content June 2019 IssuePHOTONICS HANDBOOK ARTICLESSilicon Photonics: Light Is the Ultimate Medium for High-Speed Communications: Thanks to innovations with heterogeneous material integration and multiphotonic layer stacking, silicon photonics will drive optical solutions to high volumes and low costs.Silicon photonics is widely considered a key enabling technology for further development of optical interconnect solutions needed to address growing traffic on the internet. From the first submarine...Photonics HandbookLaser Measurement Systems: Best Practices: When purchasing a laser, learning how to apply, troubleshoot, and evaluate that device is very important.Given the pace at which technology advances, there always seems to be a learning curve. With the abundance of consumer electronics available, there typically is no right or wrong way to use these...Photonics HandbookAspheric Lenses: Design Considerations: This first of two articles will cover design and manufacturing options for aspheres; the second will include more detail on manufacturing and testing processes. These articles will provide the tools optics designers need to tailor their designs to the appropriate manufacturing process and to optimize the cost of component fabrication.Aspheric surfaces are powerful tools that combine the optical corrections of multiple lenses into a single element (Figure 1) and affect performance in ways that spherical optics cannot. For example,...Photonics HandbookCamera Resolution: Combining Detector and Optics Performance: Most image-quality discussions center on resolution, which is thought to uniquely determine system performance. Resolution, however, is a more complex concept.Camera resolution depends upon the optical blur diameter and the detector size. Schade combined these to create an equivalent resolution that is a function of Fλ/d where F is the focal ratio,...Photonics HandbookWHITEPAPERSFive Signs that a Photometry-Based Imaging System is the Right Choice for Your Inspection ApplicationPhotometric imaging solutions bridge the gap between machine vision systems and true human vision, offering consistent, quantifiable data for automated processes that matches the visual acuity of...Photonics.com 1/14/2021Video Spectroscopy Meets Artificial IntelligenceHyperspectral imaging, the combination of spectral and spatial information, has enabled advances in fields as diverse as precision farming, machine vision, and biomedical imaging. Cubert’s most...Photonics.com 8/12/2020Pushing Freeform Optical Manufacturing: Fabricating Optimax’s Largest Freeform ComponentWhile manufacturing the largest extreme freeform optic that Optimax has fabricated to date, several issues associated with the size and complex shape of the optic were encountered, including...Photonics.com 3/17/2020Light Changes Matter – with Optics, Lasers and SensorsJenoptik is a global OEM supplier of solutions and products based on photonics technologies with more than 25 years experience in the fields of optics, laser technology, digital imaging,...Photonics.com 12/2/2020WEBINARSStabilizing the Line of Sight: LOS Dynamics and ControlThis webinar, presented by the author of Stabilizing the Line of Sight (Photonics Media Press, 2018), will provide an overview of the issues and topics that must be addressed to successfully...Photonics.com 6/6/2019Achieving the Best Thermal Imaging Performance for Unmanned Airborne Systems — Per Unit Gram, Volume, Watt (and Dollar)There is an ever-increasing need for smaller, lighter, and more powerful imagers — thermal imagers in particular — as the remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) business (also known as unmanned...Photonics.com 11/1/2018Robotic Collision Avoidance: When Accidents Are Not an OptionJoin us for a FREE webinar! 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Work by organizations such as the World...Photonics.com 12/29/2016Photographic Lighting & Molecular Signatures - LIGHT MATTERS 07.23.2014On this week’s show, a drone aids photographic lighting, a sensor diagnoses diabetes, fluorescence detects Alzheimer’s and a sensor amplifies molecular signatures.Photonics.com 7/23/2014Penn's Agarwal Group Focuses on Light-Matter Interactions for Optoelectronic DevicesThe Agarwal Group at the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Materials Science and Engineering focuses on understanding how light interacts with small scale nanostructures. They also work to...Photonics.com 10/1/2018Light Tomorrow with TodayLuminate NY, the only optics, photonics and imaging (OPI) accelerator and investment fund in the world, announced the final winners at the Light Tomorrow with Today event in Rochester, NY. For the...Photonics.com 7/2/2018PHOTONICS BUYERS' GUIDE CATEGORIESLaser ScannersMachine Vision SystemsThermistorsBar-Code ReadersCOMPANIESFOCtek Photonics Inc.FOCtek provides customers with all types of custom manufactured lenses, Precision Optical Components, Polarizing Optics, Prisms, Filters, Coatings, Optical Systems, Crystals, Nonlinear Crystals,...Photonics Buyers' GuideOhara Corporation, Western OfficeOhara manufactures precision optical glasses: strip/slab, cut/molded blanks, pressings, high homogeneity blanks, fine gobs, polished ball lenses, near-UV transmitting i-Line glass, ceramic...Photonics Buyers' GuideOpto Diode CorporationOpto Diode Corporation - Camarillo, CA - www.optodiode.com, an ITW Company, delivers industry-leading sensors, photodiodes, IR detectors, photonic modules,assemblies, and LEDs. Available in standard...Photonics Buyers' GuideCanon U.S.A. Inc., Industrial Products Div.Applying optical and optoelectronic technologies amassed over many years, Canon provides high-value-added products to a wide range of industries. The Company is prominent globally as a manufacturer...Photonics Buyers' Guide