We design custom optical components and assemblies for advanced imaging applications.
This page outlines the key industries and measurement challenges we support which range from AR/VR headset testing and high-altitude remote sensing, to scatterometry and near-infrared light source characterization. Whether you’re testing a display, specifying a lens for a drone payload, or developing a vision system for quality control, our optical solutions are designed to meet your exact requirements.
Table of Contents
AR/VR Testing
We design and manufacture conoscopes that will help you become the go-to test engineer for your company. They give consistent results quickly. Their performance has no equal, and they are custom designed and manufactured for your leading edge headsets or glasses. We are happy to work with your preferred test system manufacturer to give you the best results.
For examples of our work and more related content, explore our page on AR/VR testing here.
Display Testing
If you have a display that needs to be measured, you are probably curious if a conoscope would be the right tool for the job. Conoscopes have been used for characterization of liquid crystal displays for decades. They are typically used to take measurements of viewing angle and contrast. Their advantages for making these measurements are speed and simplicity. No instrument is perfect, so conoscopes also have some constraints. We believe you will find that the advantages to using a conoscope to test a display far outweigh the drawbacks.
Click here for more information on conoscopes, and check out our Display Testing page to learn more about the pros and cons of using conoscopes.
Remote Sensing
Lenses for remote sensing fall into three main categories: commercial drones, stratospheric imaging and low earth orbit (LEO). Our lenses for drones are most often used for agriculture and construction applications, while our lenses that are mounted on weather balloons and carried into the stratosphere are used to capture high resolution images for urban planning. We have only worked on one LEO system so far: an imaging spectrometer for detecting methane emissions. For each category there are different factors that should be considered during initial project planning.
Research and Development
Light Source Measurement
Several design engineers have come to us requesting lenses designed for characterizing light sources. Measuring light sources for LIDAR and for facial recognition continues to be significant. Both involve characterizing the angular distribution of light from an NIR (850 – 980nm) laser using a conoscope and camera, but that’s where the similarities end. Click here to read more.
Scatterometers
Eckhardt Optics sells a line of scatterometers based on our conoscopes. To turn a conoscope into a scatterometer, we add light sources for transmissive measurements (BTDF) or reflective measurements (BRDF) and appropriate analysis software. The main advantage of a conoscope-based scatterometer is that you get real-time display of the scattering from the sample along with high resolution.
More on Scatterometers here.
Vision Systems
A vision system is generally defined as a computer based system that uses a camera and software to perform certain tasks, such as analyzing an object or scene. A system like this is most often used in quality control of manufactured parts and must be designed to resolve a minimum feature size so it is able to perform its quality control role. In addition, the field of view (FOV), camera sensor size and type, f/#, depth of field, and working distance must be specified to ensure your system meets all of your criteria.
There are also other important parameters that must be addressed in your lens design, but if you are interested in these you can visit our page on specifying a custom lens. For now, here’s a description of the parameters already mentioned. We’ve put together a tool to help work out your specifications. If you’re ready, go ahead and jump to the calculator. Visit our Vision Systems page to read more.
Ready to talk about your application? Whether you’re starting a new project or refining an existing system, we’re happy to discuss your goals and help you determine what kind of optical solution is right for you. we’re here to help. Contact us and let’s get started together.