CONTENTS & LEADER


Electro Optics


Contents Focus


Analysis: Marketing at events 4


China competition impacts Coherent and IPG revenues l Luminar to launch sub-$1,000 lidar on production vehicles in 2022 l EPIC on the Day of Photonics


10


Jessica Rowbury looks at the innovative ideas marketers are using to stand out at trade shows


Interview: Entrepreneurship 12


EPIC’s Carlos Lee speaks with Markus Nicht, of InnoLas Solutions, about growing a team of employees from eight to 130


Feature: Automotive lidar 14


Andy Extance on which laser wavelengths, detector architectures and ranging techniques are required to deliver a cost-effective and competitive automotive lidar solution


Feature: Micro-optics


Keely Portway investigates the latest innovations in micro-optics, including how they improve the designs of photonics equipment


22 EOS news Tech focus: Optical fibres 26


Professor Paul Urbach from the Delft University of Technology talks optics and art


28


A £6.1 million research programme led by the ORC is aiming to demonstrate the potential of hollow-core optical fibres


Products


Photonics products from around the world Suppliers’ directory


Find the suppliers you need


Tech insight: Terahertz Imaging 38 Terahertz imaging identifies sub-surface damage in wood, which could allow insect infestations to be caught at earlier stages


32 36


LEADER JESSICA ROWBURY


Driving innovation


With frequent news of millions being invested and companies being acquired, it doesn’t take an expert to tell that the lidar market is booming. Indeed, Yole Développement forecasts that, by 2024, the automotive lidar market will reach $4.3 billion, expanding at a 64 per cent compound annual growth rate. This certainly contradicts comments


made by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who back in April said that ‘anyone using lidar is doomed.’ He believes lidar systems are expensive and unnecessary and that a combination of digital cameras, radar and sonar is enough to enable autonomous vehicles. Many in the photonics industry have


disputed these remarks at conferences and events I’ve attended, saying that lidar is essential to meet the required safety and performance levels. And, with investment capital fuelling considerable innovation, systems are getting smaller and more cost-effective with minimal impact on performance. In the last month alone, Luminar announced that its solid-state lidar will be launched commercially on production vehicles in 2022 for less than $1,000, while Voyant photonics raised $4.2 million to take forward its lidar on a chip. Starting on page 14, Andy Extance


explores the various approaches companies are taking in the design of their lidar systems – including the choice of wavelength and scanning techniques – to achieve the best performance at the right price point.


@electrooptics


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August/September 2019 Electro Optics 3


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