Optical

A pair of night-vision glasses would change the way we navigate the late hours, from driving to walking home in the dark. This vision is nearer to reality, as researchers simplify how light is processed, trading bulky lenses for cling-wrap-thin film.

If you've ever wished that you could turn invisible, here's your chance. A consumer "invisibility shield" has just hit Kickstarter, and it could be yours for as little as £54 (about US$68).

Scientists have developed a new type of lens that creates multiple focal points, which could make for glasses or contacts that provide a clearer view over a range of distances. The secret? Making the lens a spiral shape.

NASA will soon demonstrate a laser-based communication system between ground facilities and the International Space Station. The technology will boost data transmission speeds by 10 to 100 times, potentially opening a new standard in deep space comms.

While there are a number of optical systems that provide robotic hands with a sense of touch, most of those systems are flat, so they're confined to the fingertips. A new MIT system, however, works along the entire length of each finger.

Lighter colors are cooler than darker ones, which can limit the practical palette choices for your clothes, car or house. A new material, inspired by butterfly wings, can produce vibrant colors while reflecting 100% of light to keep them cooler.

Engineers have set a new speed record for data transmission through a standard diameter optical fiber. By beaming 55 “modes” of signals down a single-core optical fiber, the team was able to transmit at a data rate of 1.53 petabits per second.

The speed record for data transmission using a single light source and optical chip has been shattered. Engineers have transmitted data at a blistering rate of 1.84 petabits per second (Pbit/s), almost twice the global internet traffic per second.

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have presented some remarkable audio from a new optical microphone system that uses cameras to see and reconstruct sonic vibrations. Remarkably, it can cleanly separate a single instrument playing in a group.

Engineers at MIT have developed a modular computer chip with components that can communicate using flashes of light. This could allow for electronics that can easily be upgraded with new sensors or processors, rather than replacing the whole chip.

A powerful new optical chip can process almost two billion images per second. The device is made up of a neural network that processes information as light without needing components that slow down traditional computer chips, like memory.

Inspired by the dual-focus visual system of a 500-million-year-old trilobite, researchers have created and tested a light field camera with the greatest depth of field ever demonstrated. Everything between 3 cm and 1.7 km from the lens stays sharp.