The Sensorama Simulator was patented by Morton Heilig in 1962 as one of his inventions to expand the art of the cinema. In this early virtual-reality experience, viewers peered into a box to watch a 3D movie while their other senses were engulfed by smells, wind, and vibrations. While odorous breezes are not the easiest to produce with photonics, remote-sensing technologies based on photonics can significantly enhance many of our senses—from high-resolution imaging and depth perception to the remote detection of chemicals—and allow us to be immersed in multiple dimensions of information.
Advances in such remote-sensing technologies are the focus of several articles in this issue. As contributing editor Jeff Hecht explains in his cover story on laser space instrumentation (see page 27), from the decade following its invention, the laser has been the critical tool for mapping the topography of Earth, the moon, and Mars (and determining their chemical compositions). Other articles examine the sensing of gases in the Earth's atmosphere. For example, researchers from Lund University in Sweden and the Technical University of Denmark describe a novel upconversion imager that adds more information when measuring trace-level gases at atmospheric pressure (see page 51). And a story by senior editor John Wallace explains how researchers at Stanford University are measuring carbon monoxide concentrations with the help of a quantum cascade laser (see page 15).
For an even broader view of lasers in sensing, manufacturing, and biomedicine, join me at the 27th annual Lasers & Photonics Marketplace Seminar, February 9, during SPIE Photonics West. You will hear several presentations on global markets for lasers and all of photonics, along with two distinguished panels, and talks on ultrafast lasers, eye-opening advances for in vivo imaging, and photonics in the oil and gas industry. The Seminar's website (http://www.marketplaceseminar.com) has much more information on this "immersive" experience.
Conard Holton
Conard Holton has 25 years of science and technology editing and writing experience. He was formerly a staff member and consultant for government agencies such as the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the International Atomic Energy Agency, and engineering companies such as Bechtel. He joined Laser Focus World in 1997 as senior editor, becoming editor in chief of WDM Solutions, which he founded in 1999. In 2003 he joined Vision Systems Design as editor in chief, while continuing as contributing editor at Laser Focus World. Conard became editor in chief of Laser Focus World in August 2011, a role in which he served through August 2018. He then served as Editor at Large for Laser Focus World and Co-Chair of the Lasers & Photonics Marketplace Seminar from August 2018 through January 2022. He received his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, with additional studies at the Colorado School of Mines and Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.