Luxexcel, which provides 3D printed prescription lenses, has partnered with WaveOptics, a manufacturer and designer of waveguides and light engines, to develop a module integrating three important elements needed for developing consumer AR smart glasses – 3D printed prescription lens, a projector, and a waveguide.

The module, built with Luxexcel’s patented 3D printing platform, highlights an encapsulated waveguide in the body of a 3D printed prescription lens. According to both companies, quality images are preserved because the waveguide remains perfectly flat, and an air gap is formed during the printing process. The 3D printed formation also provides a perfect mounting for the projector, assuring precise alignment when molded into an optical module.

“About 70% of the adult world population today need vision correction to see their best. Providing consumers with a single device that integrates both their prescription requirements, as well as smart technologies from leaders such as WaveOptics, is a prerequisite in enabling the adoption of smart glasses by the mass consumer market. The combined strengths of the partnership: Luxexcel’s 3D printing platform and WaveOptics’ waveguides, create augmented reality prescription eyewear that everyone has been waiting for.” – Guido Groet, Chief Strategy Officer, Luxexcel. 

“The combination of WaveOptics’ Katana waveguide, the thinnest and lightest waveguide on the market today, with the complete encapsulation provided by Luxexcel’s printed lenses creates an incredibly compact and robust solution that will withstand real-world use. This partnership provides a solution for two of the major product planning challenges all of our customers face: how to address prescription accommodation and delivering a robust waveguide in a form factor that can go into a consumer product.” – Phil Greenhalgh, CTO, WaveOptics.

The module will be presented at the SPIE AR, VR, and MR conference in the month of March 2021. During the conference, both companies will highlight in a virtual fireside chat to review their partnership and respective technologies. The prototype of the sample will be made available for buyers in Q2 2021.

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