MEKARA BEEEEEAM!!! If you watch a lot of mecha anime, you might have wondered whether giant robots with Laser Vision will ever be a ‘thing’ in real life. Or maybe you’re more of a Western comics nerd, fantasising about having Superman's heat vision or Cyclops from X-Man’s energy beams. The former isn’t so far-fetched.

In fact, 3D laser vision is already installed inside modern robots, acting as their ‘eyes’ to help them with material handling, material removal, dispensing, and welding applications. Even the latest robot vacuums have laser vision. Could we ever shoot lasers from our own eyes? Probably not. While a 2011 study made biological cell lasers using fluorescent proteins, turning that into ocular lasers is a leap.