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A SINGLE pulse of light is all it takes to generate high-resolution
three-dimensional images of a scene. The technique, developed by researchers in
Israel, is fast enough to create moving 3D pictures in real time, making it
ideal for robot vision or mapping landscapes.

Today’s 3D imaging methods are either cumbersome or slow. One technique
involves a complicated set-up of cameras around a scene. Another uses lidar, the
laser equivalent to radar, to scan the scene, which takes time. The new
technique is similar to the scanning system, but can measure the time it takes
individual photons to reach the…

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