Power/Performance Bits: July 27 semiengineering.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from semiengineering.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
25th May 2021 7:00 am 21st May 2021 3:21 pm
Autonomous vehicles could be given extra awareness thanks to a unique light detecting device that can more accurately amplify weak signals reflected from faraway objects.
Autonomous vehicle (Image by falco from Pixabay)
Developed by engineers at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Virginia, the first-of-its-kind device promises to give autonomous vehicles a fuller picture of what is happening on the road.
The new device is claimed to be more sensitive than other light detectors because it eliminates inconsistency, or noise, associated with the detection process.
“Autonomous vehicles send out laser signals that bounce off objects to tell you how far away you are. Not much light comes back, so if your detector is putting out more noise than the signal coming in you get nothing,” said Joe Campbell, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Virginia School of Engineering.
E-Mail
IMAGE: Electrons multiply as they roll down the staircase as part of the avalanche photodiode. view more
Credit: The University of Texas at Austin
Realizing the potential of self-driving cars hinges on technology that can quickly sense and react to obstacles and other vehicles in real time. Engineers from The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Virginia created a new first-of-its-kind light detecting device that can more accurately amplify weak signals bouncing off of faraway objects than current technology allows, giving autonomous vehicles a fuller picture of what s happening on the road.
The new device is more sensitive than other light detectors in that it also eliminates inconsistency, or noise, associated with the detection process. Such noise can cause systems to miss signals and put autonomous vehicle passengers at risk.
Physics Helps Realize Efficient Electro-Optical Materials | Research & Technology | Dec 2020 photonics.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from photonics.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
E-Mail
IMAGE: Newly developed ballistic optical materials consist of a composite of two transparent materials, creating a plasmonic material. view more
Credit: Evan Simmons and Kun Li
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. Electronics are increasingly being paired with optical systems, such as when accessing the internet on an electronically run computer through fiber optic cables.
But meshing optics which relies on particles of light called photons with electronics relying on electrons is challenging, due to their disparate scales. Electrons work at a much smaller scale than light does. The mismatch between electronic systems and optical systems means that every time a signal converts from one to the other, inefficiency creeps into the system.