Lasers, Optics & Photonics

Snap is buying its AR display supplier for more than $500 million

The Verge: Snap has agreed to acquire WaveOptics, the supplier of the augmented reality displays that power its new Spectacles glasses, for more than $500 million, The Verge has learned. The deal is Snap’s largest ever, underscoring the company’s long-term bet…

Hybrid Microscopy Method Uses AI to Deliver Robust Images in Seconds

Photonics.com: Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) combined AI algorithms with light-field microscopy and light-sheet microscopy. The hybrid, AI-enhanced approach shortened the time needed for image processing — from days to seconds — and ensured that the resulting…

Mantis Shrimp-Inspired Camera to Detect Tumors During Surgery

Medgadget: Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a hexachromatic camera that can assist with tumor imaging during surgical removal. The device is inspired by the mantis shrimp which can perceive twelve colors, compared with just three colors…

The robots of the future are already among us

Wired UK: Robots might not be coming for our jobs, but they’re already proving useful coworkers in fields as diverse as medicine, horticulture and religion. Able to interpret the world around them using sensors and machine learning, these robots have very…