nir-vana innovation network

Most asymmetrical optical design problems are addressed these days by means of conventional rotationally-symmetric optics, which offer optimal solutions, both in terms of performance and size. This is very evident in virtual reality, where current headsets are bulky, hard to wear for a long time, and furthermore offer a poor angular resolution. Instead, free-form optics perfectly fit with free-form performances or wild geometrical restrictions, which are becoming commonplace as technology evolves towards sleeker, more attractive compact devices.
The team of the Spanish SME has a >25 years track record of free-form optics design in fields such as solid-state lighting, solar energy, projection optics and VR/AR, where they have invented, designed, developed and helped their customers bringing to market a number of commercial products, including an all-LED based headlamp with a major Japanese automotive brand and a VR/AR headset whose size is half of the state of the art devices.
Their advanced design services are often hired by technological companies with a strong activity in R&D, willing to take their products to the next levels by providing them with an added value through a more efficient, sophisticated optical system, without losing the advantages of being able to produce it in mass at low cost.
Their custom design agreements start with an NDA, followed by technical conversations and the stages of actual design and prototyping (if needed). Eventually, if the design is linked to their background IP, the SME signs an exploitation agreement, normally royalty-bearing. However, they also offer custom designs based on public-domain technologies and are open to negotiating with customers fair exploitation of foreground IP in case the work for hired yields new inventions.
The optical systems of this offer are designed with proprietary tools and include free-form surfaces, multi-channels (like the eyes of insects) and light folding strategies (combining lenses, total internal reflection and mirrors in monolithic lens parts). The combination of these characteristics allows for more geometrical and performance degrees of freedom, and a more powerful light bending, which makes the lenses more likely to comply with tight geometrical restrictions, for a given target performance.
The company is looking to establish license, outsourcing or subcontracting agreements with either small start-ups or big brands, in fields such as VR/AR, consumer electronics and automotive.

Advantages & innovations

The benefits of free-form optical trains with respect to conventional rotationally-symmetric solutions vary depending on the type of system and application field. As an example, the comparison of two specific solutions is offered with respect to the state of the art: • In 2013, a car featuring an all-LED headlamp based on free-form optics was able to put 1450lm on the road and produce a 45000cd hot-spot in a 120 deg wide beam. The best LED-based headlamp by them put 600lm on the road, while the hotspot and beam span were only 20000cd and 80deg, respectively • The recent development in VR has shown the size of headsets can be reduced to a half (total track length = distance from display to users pupils is 30mm, to be compared with 60mm of conventional headsets) The design services provided by the Spanish company utilize special algorithms developed in-house and cannot be replaced by commercial optical design software tools, which lie far from addressing free-form optics in an optimal way. In summary, the type of practical advantages that can be met by the advanced optics designed by the firm are: • More compact (reduced size) optics • More efficiency (light hitting the target over light at the source) • Compatible with free-form geometrical constraints or performance goals • Better image quality (MTF, distortion, angular resolution) • In most cases, the optical architectures have IP protection, which can give customers a competitive advantage in the market

Stage of development

Already on the market

Partner sought

The SME has designed both optical systems based on proprietary technologies and public domain concepts on demand, and is open to collaborating in the generation of foreground IP in the field of optics. The type of customer ranges from small start-ups to big brands, in fields such as VR/AR, consumer electronics and automotive. The SME addresses a global market and has signed custom design contracts in Europe, US, Japan, Korea and China so far. The company is looking to establish license, outsourcing or subcontracting agreements with this type of partners. Since most contract deal with the development of advanced design concepts, and there is a great deal of confidential information involved, the commercial process often starts with an NDA, followed by a discussion on project specifics. If there is an agreement on project terms, a custom development, often comprising a design and a prototyping phase is launched. Eventually, if the solution is based on SME IP and reaches the market with a commercial product, an agreement on IP licensing is signed, often royalty bearing. If the solution is not linked to proprietary technologies, a license is not required. The type of clientele is the same for all the agreements proposed, with the following specification regarding outsourcing and subcontracting: • Outsourcing: the Spanish SME provides optical engineering services to companies having some kind of optical team that is either unable to do the job or is focused on other tasks. • Subcontracting: the Spanish SME provides optical engineering services to companies lacking optics department.