Since the material reflects hundreds of times less light than the paints currently used, the agency said it could help create equipment capable of measuring distant objects such as planets orbiting stars outside our solar system.

BBC: Carbon nanotubes experiment results

Nanotechnology is generally agreed to cover objects measuring from 1 to 100nm, though the definition is somewhat arbitrary.

ECONOMIST: Small wonders

The camera works, the team explained, by bouncing lasers off distant objects, and measuring the time it takes for the light to travel back to the detector.

BBC: Long-distance 3D laser camera unveiled by Edinburgh team

Some Hyundai vehicles also contain ultrasonic sensors that help drivers to park by measuring the distance between a car and other objects.

CNN: Technology's next frontier: In-car computing

Trappist (TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope) will study exoplanets by measuring at high precision the "brightness dips" that can be caused by objects transiting (passing in front of) their parent star.

BBC: New robotic telescope in Chile set for planet hunt

The vehicle systems are capable of tasks such as scanning movement of objects around it, identifying a green light from a red light and measuring the trajectory of the vehicle on the road.

ENGADGET: Lexus' autonomous Advanced Active Safety Research Vehicle and why we're not ready for self-driving cars

Surface, a table with a square acrylic top measuring 30 inches on the diagonal, combines five cameras with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless networking to detect objects and movement.

WSJ: The Shape of Computers to Come?