Smart headlight makes rain disappear
By Nicolette Emmino
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute have developed a prototype of a new automobile headlight that will allow drivers to see directly through rain and snow. Their research goal was to assist drivers’ visibility by reducing the appearance of illuminated precipitation particles. MORE

First Hi-Res Color Curiosity Images from Mars
This image is the first high-resolution color mosaic from NASA’s Curiosity rover, showing the geological environment around the rover’s landing site in Gale Crater on Mars. The images show a landscape that closely resembles portions of the southwestern United States in its morphology, adding to the impression gained from the lower-resolution thumbnail mosaic released early in the week.

The colors in the main image are unmodified from those returned by the camera. While it is difficult to say whether this is what a human eye would see, it is what a cell phone or camcorder would record since the Mastcam takes color pictures in the exact same manner that consumer cameras acquire color images. The colors in a second version linked to the main image have been modified as if the scene were transported to Earth and illuminated by terrestrial sunlight. This processing, called “white balancing,” is useful for scientists to be able to recognize and distinguish rocks by color in more familiar lighting. MORE

New picoprojector converts light more efficiently
By Nicolette Emmino
Researchers from North Carolina State University, in conjunction with ImagineOptix, have created a new technology capable of converting nonpolarized light into polarized light. This development almost doubles the efficiency of projectors that use liquid-crystal (LC) technology. MORE