Latest news with #MetaOptics
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
MetaOptics Launches Automatic Metalens Tester to Improve Mass Production Sorting Capabilities
SINGAPORE, May 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- MetaOptics today announced the launch of its new Automatic Metalens Tester, an advanced system developed in collaboration with Elsoft Research Bhd (KLSE: a manufacturer of testing equipment for leading global technology brands. The tester marks a significant addition to MetaOptics' production process flow as it improves volume manufacturing of next-generation optics. Purpose-built for MetaOptics' 12-inch glass-based metalens wafers operating in visible wavelengths, the system automates critical testing steps including wavelength and polarization dependent optical efficiency and focus quality. It supports a wide testing range, with a 360° x 120° field-of-view and for working distances from a few centimetres to infinity. Integrated pick-and-place functionality enables precise handling of individual dies from a 12-inch diced wafer. This streamlines the testing, enables binning based on optical performance, and facilitates sorting into different JEDEC trays for good and defective metalenses. "Our Automatic Metalens Tester marks a significant step forward in scaling our production capabilities," said Mark Thng, CEO of MetaOptics Technologies. "By combining rigorous performance validation with automated handling and categorization, we are investing in the quality assurance capabilities that customers expect as they prepare for the next generation of optical devices." The system improves throughput, measurement consistency, and traceability across the manufacturing line — critical factors for supporting high-volume production with the reliability standards demanded by leading global technology brands. Following its debut of breakthrough metalens technologies at CES 2025, MetaOptics remains focused on translating innovation into manufacturable solutions for mobile, augmented reality, and other precision-driven applications. The Automatic Metalens Tester will be ready for deployment in Q4 2025. About MetaOptics Inc. MetaOptics Inc. is a leading-edge semiconductor optics company pioneering glass-based metalens solutions enhanced by AI-driven image processing. Using advanced optical design and a scalable 12-inch DUV lithography process, it powers next-generation applications in mobile, AR VR, automotive and other emerging markets. Headquartered in Singapore, MetaOptics aims to deliver high-performance optics with the reliability and scalability demanded by today's most innovative technology brands. About Elsoft Research Bhd Elsoft Research Bhd (KLSE:0090), a company based in Penang, Malaysia, specializes in the design and manufacture of high-precision automated test and measurement solutions. It supports some of the world's leading consumer electronics and semiconductor companies, with proven expertise in high-throughput testing platforms that help clients meet stringent quality and performance standards at scale. For media inquiries, please contact: ir@ View original content: SOURCE METAOPTICS INC Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Straits Times
19-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
A start-up, a scale-up and a hospital bag top accolades at maiden Design AI and Tech Awards
Senior Minister of State Tan Kiat How (2nd from left), with (from left) SUTD's Tai Lee Siang; ; LionsBot's Tan Wei Hua; SGH's Moarie Grace Tan and Jeff Tang; MetaOptics Technologies' Aloysius Chua; and BT editor Chen Huifen. PHOTO: WINSTON CHUANG SINGAPORE - Home-grown semiconductor optics start-up MetaOptics Technologies, local autonomous cleaning robot firm LionsBot and Sengkang General Hospital clinched top honours at the inaugural Design AI and Tech Awards (Daita) on May 19. Jointly organised by The Business Times (BT) and the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), the competition aims to spur innovators from start-ups and companies to harness design and technology to develop groundbreaking solutions that tackle real-life business challenges. Daita was launched in October 2024 with multi-asset investment firm Granite Asia as a supporting partner. MetaOptics swept the judges with its advanced colour metalens imaging system that features a single-glass layer alternative to traditional multi-layer curved plastic lenses. Its deputy chief executive officer Aloysius Chua said in his presentation: 'The challenge today with traditional three-dimensional optics is the bulkiness, complexity and high costs.' He explained that metalenses, also known as flat optics or 2D lenses, are single layers of glass made up of millions of circular pillars of varying diameters – each as thin as one-thousandth of a human hair – at the same height. MetaOptics uses semiconductor fabrication techniques to etch millions of microscopic pillars onto glass wafers. PHOTO: METAOPTICS TECHNOLOGIES 'MetaOptics is the first company to produce a single-layer metalens on a 12-inch glass wafer, working in visible light wavelengths and integrated into a camera to capture a colour image,' said Mr Chua. The start-up boasts proprietary AI software that sharpens and improves the vibrancy of the images captured, as well as a brightening algorithm that lights up dark areas without overexposing brighter sections. Noting that the lenses are fabricated and assembled in Singapore, Mr Chua told BT: 'We want Singapore to be the excellence centre of metalenses. We want to control the design and we want the key manufacturing supply chain to be in Singapore.' MetaOptics Technologies' deputy chief executive officer Aloysius Chua told BT the award brings validation to the work put in by the young startup over the past three-and-a-half years. PHOTO: WINSTON CHUANG On winning the award, he said: 'As a young start-up, it brings validation to the work that we put in… In three-and-a-half years, we were able to develop tech and commercialise it, and now our products are already sold into the market.' A mechanical engineer by training, Mr Chua added: 'We are not very far from commercialising lenses into the consumer electronics market… In the next few months, you will hear a lot about us.' MetaOptics was one of the three winners among eight shortlisted projects. Local robotics company LionsBot took the crown with its autonomous robots that are armed with AI navigation, fleet management and generative AI support; and which use 10 per cent of the water utilised by traditional cleaning machines. Local robotics company LionsBot's design head, Tan Wei Hua, said the mature startup, which was founded in 2018, aims to double the number of robots it deploys worldwide in the next few years. PHOTO: WINSTON CHUANG Design head Tan Wei Hua told BT: 'It's the first award that really brings together design and technology… and a lot resonated with us, like how we're using design to make technology more accessible, impactful and delightful for users. It's an affirmation that we're on the right path of bringing design, AI and tech together.' Founded in 2018, the mature start-up has conducted some 10 cycles of prototyping of its robots, more than 3,500 of which are deployed in over 30 countries. 'We are not stopping here. In the next couple of years, we're aiming to double the number of robots that we're deploying worldwide,' said LionsBot's Mr Tan. LionsBot's autonomous robots are armed with AI navigation, fleet management and generative AI support; and use 10 per cent of the water utilised by traditional cleaning machines. PHOTO: LIONSBOT He concluded: 'We have transformed cleaners into skilled robot operators, enhanced the dignity of the profession, improved accessibility to technology for the elderly and less-tech-literate and, at the same time, put Singapore on the map as a source of innovative design and engineering.' Rounding up the three winners is Sengkang General Hospital (SKH) with its fully automated sterile supply system. Jeff Tang (left), senior executive, operating theatre services, and Moarie Grace Tan, assistant director, nursing, operating theatre services, at Sengkang General Hospital. PHOTO: WINSTON CHUANG Ms Moarie Grace Tan, assistant director, nursing, operating theatre services, explained: 'We have 14,000 unique instruments categorised into 4,000 products, 2,600 different kinds of surgeries and many surgeons with their own preferences, (which) becomes a huge nightmare when we can't find what is needed.' With its first-of-its-kind automated storage and retrieval system in Singapore's healthcare sector, the hospital has halved retrieval times of instruments, boosted storage capacity by 75 per cent and reduced the manual handling of heavy containers. 'Now we can look into having the whole department as automated as possible,' said SKH's Ms Tan. 'The award gives us that leverage because it tells others that we are people who are looking at innovating and making things work better, rather than just sticking to traditional methods.' A three-arm robotic system, coupled with four Vertical Carousel Systems, automates the storage and retrieval of instrument sets. PHOTO: SENGKANG GENERAL HOSPITAL The other five finalists include: international education provider EtonHouse; Nanyang Biologics, a pioneering spin-off from Nanyang Technological University; Singapore-based Porolis Technologies, which focuses on digital gemmology; port operator PSA Singapore; and SBS Transit Rail. In a speech at the event, SUTD's deputy president and chief innovation and enterprise officer Tai Lee Siang said: 'All the contestants put in clear indicators of the impact… some of which are not possible without the power of AI, to overcome past inefficiencies and accurately measure impact.' Award submissions were assessed across six criteria: design-thinking process and strategies; originality; utilisation of AI and advanced technologies; ethical consideration and sustainability; aesthetic and functional qualities; and quantitative and qualitative impact. The six touchstones are weighted equally so that contenders use the opportunity to address a range of factors, said Prof Tai in an earlier interview with BT. He chaired the judging panel, which comprised BT editor Chen Huifen; DesignSingapore Council executive director Dawn Lim; GreenA Consultants senior partner Farizan d'Avezac De Moran; AI Singapore director for AI innovation Laurence Liew; and Professor John Ochsendorf, founding director of MIT Morningside Academy for Design. On May 19, the eight finalist teams each delivered a five-minute presentation to the judges, followed by another five minutes of question-and-answer from the judges. Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information and National Development Tan Kiat How graced the event as the guest of honour. Senior Minister of State Tan Kiat How was the event's guest of honour and delivered a speech. PHOTO: WINSTON CHUANG On why SUTD made the pivot to AI, the university's president Phoon Kok Kwang said: 'We are making the bet that AI is not hype. If we are right, the opportunities for innovation would be staggering, and we want to be the forerunner of this post-AI world.' BT's Ms Chen said: 'This competition isn't just about ideas. It's about human-centric solutions amplified by AI's transformative potential… The best solutions don't just leverage AI; they elevate people and improve lives and processes.' More information about Daita is available here. THE BUSINESS TIMES Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Business Times
16-05-2025
- Business
- Business Times
MetaOptics' single-layered glass lens improves performance and sustainability
[SINGAPORE] Local semiconductor optics startup MetaOptics Technologies is harnessing nanophotonics and artificial intelligence (AI) to overhaul traditional lens systems used in consumer electronics, augmented and virtual reality and scientific imaging. Its flagship innovation, the Advanced Color Metalens Imaging System, replaces multi-layer plastic lenses with a single-layer glass metalens. Using deep ultraviolet (DUV) immersion lithography on 12-inch wafers – a process borrowed from semiconductor manufacturing – the system dramatically reduces the thickness and weight of camera modules, while offering enhanced durability and colour accuracy. The cameras in today's smartphones and point-and-shoot devices typically rely on stacked layers of plastic or glass lenses to focus light. Innovative lenses But this bulky architecture may soon be obsolete. Metalenses are flat optical components that can perform the same function using just a single layer of intricately patterned nanostructures. SEE ALSO EtonHouse teachers now teach more and do less admin with AI GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up VIEW ALL MetaOptics uses semiconductor fabrication techniques to etch millions of microscopic pillars – each about 1/800th the width of a human hair – onto glass wafers. A 1.5 mm lens can contain more than six million of these nano-pillars, precisely engineered to manipulate light and focus images with incredible accuracy. MetaOptics identified problems with bulky optics, environmental concerns and inconsistent image quality in compact devices, based on feedback from the industry. By working with engineers, designers and software developers, they created a single-layer RGB glass lens that can independently tune red, green and blue light without filters – producing sharper, more vibrant images. To further enhance imaging, MetaOptics developed AI-based software that performs real-time fusion of RGB channels, automatically fine-tuning contrast, sharpness and noise. The company's proprietary algorithms restore image quality to near-original, high-resolution levels, even under varying lighting conditions – a challenge that has long plagued mobile and embedded imaging systems.
