Pew Pew! BMW Puts Lasers in Headlights
We're one step closer to a working Mach 5!
by Glen Tickle Nov 1st
Unless you're a Bond villain or a member of Cobra, your car probably doesn't shoot lasers, but BMW wants to change that. Their new laser headlights promise to be brighter than any other headlight on the market. That has obvious safety benefits, but you'll also get to brag that your car has frickin' laserbeams attached to its frickin' headlights.
Read MoreBMW 1M Coupe Stolen In 3 Minutes, Keyless Entry System Easily Hacked
by Sui Ying Teoh Jul 10th
A bunch of thieves managed to hack into a BMW 1M coupe and drive it away in under 3 minutes, clean and quiet as you please. BMW's keyless entry system is apparently to blame, and there appears to be a lot of blame, because no one prefers losing their car to losing their car keys.
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Why Not: BMW Foresees Cars With Laser Headlights
by Max Eddy Sep 6th
High-end car maker BMW has recently announced that their i8 concept vehicle will feature laser headlights. Citing increased efficency, reduced size, and just because they can, BMW says that the laser is the next logical step after the LED for exterior automobile lighting.
BMW will use miniscule 10-micron long laser diodes, which is 100 times smaller than LED units, in the vehicle. Despite their tiny size, the laser diodes have far lower power requirements, able to shoot out 170 lumens per watt, versus a paltry 100 lumens per watt from LEDs. This could potentially increase the range of an electric vehicle, and improve overall efficiency for the conventional vehicles. For those in the audience who are exterior lighting designers in the automotive industry (hi, dad!), the lasers also provide a "coherent" light source and "a constant phase difference," which I assume to be a good thing.
Of course, where lasers go, safety concerns will follow.
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