Self-Driving Cars And Television

Seeing Like A Sedan

Andrew Miller | Asterisk | 26th January 2026 | U

A Waymo and a Tesla Cybercab, both self-driving cars, see the world very differently. The Waymo uses lidar and radar for a detailed 3D model of its environment beyond what humans can see. A Cybercab has no lidar or radar. It has 8 cameras which send video feeds to a neural network to identify objects and gauge dimensions. “Which technology wins out will determine the future of self-driving vehicles” (6,100 words)

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Television Is 100 Years Old

Diamond Geezer | 26th January 2026 | U

In a rented room in Hastings, John Logie Baird built the first TV-signal-transmitting equipment using a hatbox, tea chest, darning needles and bicycle light lenses. It caused a 1000-volt electric shock which burned his hand. Three years later, he gave the first official demonstration of a television from his attic workshop in London. Most present failed to realise the significance of what they had just seen (1,400 words)