How Do Robots See in the Dark?

If you turn off all the lights in your bedroom, you can’t see your toys on the floor. But a robot can navigate your dark room effortlessly!

How do they do it? Some robots use Infrared (IR) Cameras. Humans can only see normal light, but our eyes can’t see ‘heat’ or infrared rays. The robot sends out an invisible beam of light and looks for the reflection, like a bat using echolocation in a dark cave.

Other robots use LIDAR, which shoots spinning lasers to draw a 3D map of the room!

Using sensors to ‘see’ the world is a big deal in the FIRST® Tech Challenge.