Lumus and Luxexcel demonstrate reflective waveguide embedded in a prescription lens demonstrator

The companies have co-developed a technology demonstrator of an Augmented Reality prescription lens solution which features a reflective waveguide, projector, and a prescription lens.

Eindhoven, the Netherlands; Ness Ziona, Israel – March 16th , 2022 – Luxexcel, the technology leader for 3D printed prescription lenses and Lumus, the pioneering innovator of reflective waveguide displays for Augmented Reality (AR), have co-developed a demonstrator of an Augmented Reality prescription lens solution that enables OEMs to address users’ prescription requirements in their smart eyewear products and make the lens solution thin, durable, and to be worn like fashion eyewear lenses.

The demonstrator features Lumus reflective waveguide which are widely acknowledged as having the AR industry’s leading luminance efficiency which are ideally suited for outdoor usage, embedded by Luxexcel into a 3D printed prescription lens. The complete solution features a high-quality, clear image produced by the waveguide and viewed through the prescription lens.

“Lumus is thrilled to partner with Luxexcel, a real innovator in the optics space, on this proof of concept joining two distinct and complementary innovations that make AR glasses truly practical and ready for the consumer market,” said Dr. Eli Glikman, Chief Product Officer of Lumus. “Luxexcel’s focus on quality and scalability for their 3D printed prescription lenses make their solution a very promising path for integrating RX for our current 2D expansion reflective waveguides.”

This joint demonstrator features a prescription lens with embedded the Lumus Maximus. Specifications of the Lumus waveguide are: 50° field-of-view, 2Kx2K resolution and an eyebox of 12x12mm and brightness of more than 4,000nit/WLED.

High-quality images are maintained because the waveguide remains completely flat during the 3D printing of the prescription lens, and print features such as air gaps can be added.

Guido Groet, Chief Strategy Officer at Luxexcel says, “Lumus is one of the waveguide technology leaders in the industry and their reflective waveguide technology is known for its great image quality and brightness. Given 75% of the world population today requires vision correction, providing prescription lenses for augmented reality glasses is crucial.  We’re proud of the contribution our partnership with Lumus is making to the smart eyewear industry where they provide the imaging technology, we add the prescription and make the full device thin, lightweight and above all, fashionable.

The key technologies provided by the partnership can be scaled and volume-produced to 3D print smart eyewear with users’ individualized prescription powers.

This module will be shown for the first time at SPIE AR VR MR where both companies will feature in a virtual Fireside chat to discuss their respective technologies. Prototype samples of the module will be available for customers in Q2 2022.

Luxexcel wins SPIE Prism Award 2022 category Augmented Reality

SPIE Photonics West – Luxexcel was selected as the Prism Award 2022 winner in the category Augmented and Virtual Reality. Luxexcel’s complete VisionPlatform 7 solution to create prescription lenses and integrate smart technology like waveguides, was recognized as the solution to solve a key challenge in the augmented reality industry: enabling fashionable smart eyewear with prescription lenses.

Luxexcel Prism Award 2022

The Prism Awards reflect the latest exciting developments, exponential growth, and rich technical innovations across photonics and photonics-enabled industries. For consideration in this year’s awards, SPIE received 120 applications from 18 countries.

Finalists and winners were selected by a panel of international judges who leveraged the knowledge and acumen of leaders from across the technology commercialization and funding sectors. The distinguished judges’ roster included MKS Instruments’ Marc D. Himel, the FDA’s Zane Arp, Femto Blanc’s Uri Abrams, iFocus’ Adi Diner, Berkeley Catalyst Fund’s Laura Smoliar, Engender Technologies’ Cather Simpson, Luminate Accelerator’s Sujatha Ramanujan, Notal Vision’s Nishant Mohan, Teledyne Princeton Instruments’ Jason McClure, and Chromacity’s Shahida Iman.

About Luxexcel
Luxexcel is the world’s only technology provider for 3D printed commercial lenses. Our mission is to accelerate the adoption of consumer smart eyewear by meeting the needs of more than 75% of the adult world population requiring prescription lenses. We enable this with our patented 3D printing manufacturing platform. Original equipment and device manufacturers use our platform to design and produce custom, lightweight, smart prescription eyewear on-demand and in a fashionable form factor suitable for the mass market. Luxexcel’s head office is based in The Netherlands, with branch offices in Belgium and the United States.

Website URL: http://www.luxexcel.com/

Luxexcel and Optiswiss announce cooperation for 3D printed smart eyewear

Basel, Switzerland and Eindhoven, The Netherlands – September 8th, 2021 – Optiswiss, the leading Swiss lens manufacturer with distribution throughout Europe, has partnered with Luxexcel to bring commercial 3D printed lenses to market for use in regular eyewear and smart glasses. Under the partnership, Luxexcel will provide its breakthrough 3D printing lens technology, and Optiswiss will 3D print prescription lenses for the smart eyewear market. Optiswiss will also implement the newly released Luxexcel VisionPlatform™ 7 at its industrial facility in Basel, Switzerland. This shared strategy will accelerate the delivery of “Swiss-made” prescription lenses that are ideal for smart eyewear devices.

As one of Europe’s largest ophthalmic laboratories, Optiswiss will use VisionPlatform 7 to provide a production facility for customers, to manufacture prescription lenses and accelerate the launch of their smart eyewear devices. The platform 3D prints a variety of prescription smart lens solutions for Augmented Reality smartglasses and switchable sunglasses in a form factor similar to traditional eyewear.

Samuel Frei, CEO at Optiswiss said, “We’re excited to join Luxexcel in their journey to deliver prescription lenses for smart eyewear. After several years of cooperation with Luxexcel, it was time for us to bring the new VisionPlatform™ 7 to our production plant. We now have a digital manufacturing platform to combine prescription lenses with smart technology today, including a clear path towards large volume manufacturing of prescription smart glasses. At Optiswiss we are innovators and always at the forefront of technology. Together with Luxexcel we will develop pioneering products and bring them to market quickly. By adopting innovative technologies such as VisionPlatform™ 7, we can provide our customers with solutions for prescription smart eyewear, giving them an edge over the competition.”

Optiswiss chose VisionPlatform™ 7 because of the high-quality ophthalmic lenses that the platform produces. Another reason is the operational simplicity that the platform provides, as it replaces many process steps of traditional lens manufacturing with a one-step process. The platform provides further efficiencies such as 3D printing the hard-coating as part of the printing process.

Fabio Esposito, CEO at Luxexcel said, “We found a partner in Optiswiss that shares our vision to be at the forefront of innovation in the smart eyewear industry. The combination of our technology and the experience of Optiswiss as a lens manufacturer ensures that smart eyewear producers can bring to market smart devices that addresses the needs of those with prescriptions.”

A pioneer in 3D printed lens technology, Luxexcel specifically developed VisionPlatform™ 7 to fulfill a need in the smart eyewear industry for a digital technology solution to manufacture prescription smart lenses on a mass scale. VisionPlatform™ 7 consists of patented hardware, software, materials, processes, and support – all the components required to ensure mass production and distribution of prescription smart lenses.

About Luxexcel  
Luxexcel is the world’s only technology provider for 3D printed commercial lenses. Our mission is to accelerate the adoption of consumer smart eyewear by meeting the needs of more than 75% of the adult world population requiring prescription lenses. We enable this with our patented 3D printing manufacturing platform. Original equipment and device manufacturers use our platform to design and produce custom, lightweight, smart prescription eyewear on-demand and in a fashionable form factor suitable for the mass market. Luxexcel’s head office is based in The Netherlands, with branch offices in Belgium and the United States.

About Optiswiss
Optiswiss (www.optiswiss.com) has been manufacturer of ophthalmic lenses since 1937 and has its technology and production site in Basel, Switzerland. As a result of constant growth and innovations over the past decades, Optiswiss is today the leading lens manufacturer in Switzerland and, as the biggest independent ophthalmic lab in Europe, an internationally active company, operating throughout Europe.

‘Swiss made’ is not only the production site, it is also our philosophy – only the latest technologies, strict quality control and well-developed logistics are used. Optiswiss is a successful, extremely dynamic company that concentrates on developing, manufacturing, marketing and selling high tech spectacle lenses. Our values include innovative, solution-orientated thinking, providing high quality products with a clear focus on a customer-oriented service.

Media Contact 
Eva Flipse Marketing Manager – Luxexcel
hello[at]luxexcel.com

Luxexcel launches platform for manufacturing of prescription lenses for smartglasses

VisionPlatform™ 7 integrates a ready-to-use suite of technology solutions to 3D print prescription smart eyewear

Eindhoven, The Netherlands – July 14th, 2021 – Today, Luxexcel announced its next-generation manufacturing platform, Luxexcel VisionPlatform™ 7, which makes it possible for businesses to integrate prescription lenses into the production of smartglasses in their manufacturing facilities. VisionPlatform™ 7 includes new features specifically geared towards manufacturing prescription smart lenses that are lightweight, thin, and can be used in commercial frames similar to traditional eyeglasses. The platform has been developed based on market demand and customer-specific needs for flexible yet high-performing manufacturing systems.

VisionPlatform™ 7 is technology-agnostic and integrates objects such as waveguides, holographic optical elements, and liquid crystal foils during the 3D printing process. The platform includes high-tech hardware, proprietary materials, advanced software, and processes – everything required to create prescription smart eyewear on-demand. With the capabilities to manufacture prescription smart eyewear, technology companies can accelerate their Augmented Reality (AR) eyewear projects and give designers the flexibility to create the smartglasses they want.

Fabio Esposito, Chief Executive Officer at Luxexcel says, “The launch of VisionPlatform™ 7 begins a new era in the manufacturing of prescription smart lenses. To compete in the race to launch consumer-ready smartglasses, eyewear manufacturers need to address prescription in their smartglasses devices. More than 75% of the adult world population today requires prescription lenses. Luxexcel provides a disruptive solution where smart technology is seamlessly combined with a prescription lens, rather than adding prescription power to the smart device as an afterthought. Luxexcel is accelerating the market introduction of true consumer smart glasses by allowing technology companies to manufacture prescription smart eyewear in the comfort of their own manufacturing home.”

This launch is off the back of Luxexcel’s successful product demo earlier this year, which proved that the three vital elements of AR smartglasses – prescription lens, a waveguide, and a projector in a fashionable device – can be combined into a 3D printed prescription lens. Luxexcel’s comprehensive material knowledge and family of custom materials ensures that the integrated objects bond well with the prescription material. VisionPlatform™ 7 also prints critical features, difficult or impossible to manufacture otherwise, such as the air gap required for a waveguide, and printed hardcoating, all without birefringence.

Guido Groet, Chief Strategy Officer at Luxexcel says, “To manufacture a device that combines prescription and smart functions requires a combination of skills in technology and optics. It can be difficult to find this combination of skill sets in one team, so we offer this experience to our partners. We provide our customers with a complete solution to manufacture prescription smart lenses so that they can focus on developing the technologies and content for the device. With VisionPlatform™ 7, more innovative features can be added to smartglasses and the only limitation is the imagination of the designer.”

VisionPlatform™ 7 features include:

• Integration of smart technologies: VisionPlatform™ 7 is technology agnostic and seamlessly integrates a variety of objects during the 3D printing process to create prescription smart eyewear. Integrated objects include smart technologies such as waveguides and holographic optical elements, as well as active or passive foils such as liquid crystals.

• Optimized printing processes: VisionPlatform™ 7 prints a range of powers from high to low on diameters from 65mm to below 1 mm. The platform also prints features difficult to produce with traditional lens making, such as air gaps required for waveguides, and micro lenses.

• Strong adhesion properties: Different adhesion promotors for various objects such as waveguides and holographic optical elements ensure that integrated objects bond well with the prescription material.

• New materials: Materials for high temperatures ensure that a range of anti-reflective and hydrophobic coatings can be applied to lenses as part of existing ophthalmic post-processing steps.

• Printed hardcoating: A printable hardcoat is integrated as part of the 3D printing process. Luxexcel delivers an even surface at a low temperature to protect smart technologies inside the lens, the technology can even coat selected areas.

• Lens design: Custom lens designs can be printed to address users’ most common refractive errors, such as single vision lenses and multifocal progressive designs, free form lenses as well as prisms.

About Luxexcel

Luxexcel is the world’s only technology provider for 3D printed commercial lenses. Our mission is to accelerate the adoption of consumer smart eyewear by meeting the needs of more than 75% of the adult world population requiring prescription lenses. We enable this with our patented 3D printing manufacturing platform. Original equipment and device manufacturers use our platform to design and produce custom, lightweight, smart prescription eyewear on-demand and in a fashionable form factor suitable for the mass market. Luxexcel’s head office is based in The Netherlands, with branch offices in Belgium and the United States.

Contact:

Name: Eva Flipse

Email Address: eva.flipse@luxexcel.com

Luxexcel reaches next milestone in volume manufacturing for 3D printed prescription lenses

3D printing technology provider optimizes manufacturing platform ensuring that customers make better technology in volume

Eindhoven – 2 December 2020 – Luxexcel, the technology provider for 3D printed prescription lenses, reports that its manufacturing platforms in the US and Europe have reached a milestone in its production volume. Luxexcel’s VisionPlatforms™ have printed over 50,000 lenses for customers in the traditional and smart eyewear, and high-tech industries.

Fabio Esposito, Chief Executive Officer at Luxexcel says, “Our VisionPlatforms offer customers the ability to 3D print lenses, and we’ve now scaled it for volume manufacturing. The exponential growth we’re achieving in the production in volume of 3D printed lenses on our platforms is a milestone to enable customers to combine prescription eyewear with smart technology.”

Luxexcel has optimized the printing processes of its VisionPlatforms to make volume manufacturing of prescription lenses more predictable, scalable, and flexible. “Together with our customers, we’ve now proven that VisionPlatform is stable, and offers scalability with the flexibility to create large volumes of lenses with individualized specifications, and prescription power,” says Guido Groet, Chief Strategy Officer at Luxexcel.

Groet elaborates that customers and partners produce unique lenses with Luxexcel’s VisionPlatform, which aren’t possible to manufacture with legacy eyewear technologies. “Customers use VisionPlatform to make better products with enhanced functionality that also address the vision correction needs of glasses wearers,” he adds.

The VisionPlatform forms part of Luxexcel’s complete volume manufacturing solution. The solution consists of proprietary hardware, software, materials, and support to enable customers and partners to commercially 3D print traditional or smart lenses with glasses wearers’ individualized prescription requirements. “All components of our volume manufacturing solution seamlessly work together to ensure that customers and partners can 3D print lenses in volume,” concludes Groet.

About Luxexcel

Luxexcel is the only technology provider globally that enables customers to 3D print prescription lenses. As a pioneer, we have a unique understanding of the 3D printing technology and prescription eyewear market. Our in-depth knowledge and expertise help lens designers and manufacturers to create better products. Our customers expand their offerings with eyewear which corrects vision as well as includes smart-tech features. We do this with our unique patented 3D printing technology that embeds waveguides, electronics, sensors, and films inside the lens and print prescription power on or around it. The smart tech is fully encased in our unique lens material as we print. Luxexcel lenses are durable and thin and look like conventional eyewear. We offer a complete 3D printing volume manufacturing solution, which includes a printer, materials, and software, for both traditional, as well as for smart eyewear.

Media Contact

Eva Flipse
Marketing Manager
Eva.flipse[at]luxexcel.com
Luxexcel