Lumus and SCHOTT Strengthen Manufacturing Partnership to Meet the Growing Global Market Demand for Optical AR Glasses
30 January 2024, San Francisco, CA
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Lumus and SCHOTT announce that both companies are expanding their five-year-long manufacturing partnership
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SCHOTT is now significantly enhancing its manufacturing footprint in Malaysia by adding a new production facility. The plant is a manufacturing hub for optical components used in several industries, including consumer electronics.
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As a result of these investments, together with the planned further expansion of the Malaysia Advanced Optics Hub, the partnership can now support all phases of product development in consumer electronics, including proof-of-concept prototype development, engineering samples, and mass-market scale manufacturing.
To support this expanded partnership, SCHOTT is now significantly enhancing its manufacturing footprint in Penang, Malaysia, by adding a new production facility. The Malaysia plant has been in operation for more than 50 years; employs more than 1,000 passionate #glasslovers; and serves as a manufacturing hub for optical components used in consumer electronics, industrial, and medical applications.
“In early 2019, Lumus and SCHOTT began a strategic partnership with the goal of enabling cost-effective, mass-scale manufacturing of the reflective waveguides featured in our Lumus 2D Maximus architecture," Lumus CEO Ari Grobman said today. “Now, SCHOTT is processing waveguides for our next-generation Z-Lens waveguide architecture that enables us to develop even smaller, lighter AR eyeglasses with high-resolution image quality, outdoor-compatible brightness, and seamless Rx integration. The success of our partnership is helping to make high quality optical AR glasses a practical reality for the mass market.”
In the first phase of the five-year partnership, SCHOTT established a sampling line in Malaysia, where it successfully developed the processing and metrology capabilities to provide customers with prototypes and better understand their manufacturing requirements.
In the second phase, SCHOTT focused on developing the equipment and processing platform to meet the stringent requirements of industrial manufacturing for these customers. The engine of this processing platform is Lumus’s new Z-lens reflective waveguide architecture that’s designed to meet the imminent customer demand for AR glasses.
As a result of these investments, together with the planned further expansion of the Malaysia Advanced Optics Hub, the partnership can now support all phases of product development in consumer electronics, including proof-of-concept prototype development, engineering samples, and mass-market scale manufacturing.
“This expanded partnership with Lumus represents the logical next step in SCHOTT’s history of pioneering innovations in optics and vision technology that turn visions into a reality,” said Dr. Ruediger Sprengard, Head of Augmented Reality at SCHOTT. “As a global leader in waveguide components for AR, we are leveraging our expertise in melting, coating, and the highest-precision processing of glass. We are committed to investing further in the expansion of our processing hub for optical components in Malaysia. With this expansion, we are well positioned to meet the growing demand in cutting-edge optics such as AR waveguides based on Lumus’ Z-lens architecture.”
Read the full press releasehere.
Lumus reflective waveguides set an industry benchmark for AR image quality. Far brighter than other solutions, Lumus is the only waveguide ideally suited for outdoor usage. With up to 10X better luminance efficiency over competing waveguides and supply chain partners like Quanta and SCHOTT, Lumus is the leading choice for OEMs making AR glasses. Lumus waveguide technology provides unparalleled color uniformity and a true white due to the straight-forward light path inherent in its architecture.
Lumus co-developed manufacturing processes with its world class supply chain partners including Quanta Computer Inc. and SCHOTT, to achieve scalability for mass manufacturing. The company is the leading designer of reflective waveguide technology at the core of several existing AR products including Thales' Scorpion full-color head mounted display, Augmedics xVision system for guiding surgeons, MediThinQ’s medical devices, Lenovo's ThinkReality A6 released in 2019 as well as Thirdeye's X2 MR Glasses.
Pioneering. Responsibly. Together.
These attributes characterize SCHOTT as a manufacturer of high-tech materials based on specialty glass. Founder Otto Schott is considered its inventor and became the pioneer of an entire industry. Always opening up new markets and applications with a pioneering spirit and passion – this is what has driven the #glasslovers at SCHOTT for almost 140 years. Represented in over 30 countries, the company is a highly skilled partner for high-tech industries: Healthcare, Home Appliances & Living, Consumer Electronics, Semiconductors & Datacom, Optics, Industry & Energy, Automotive, Astronomy & Aerospace. In the fiscal year 2022, its 17,200 employees generated sales of 2.8 billion euros. SCHOTT AG is owned by the Carl Zeiss Foundation, one of the oldest foundations in Germany. It uses the Group's dividends to promote science. As a foundation company, SCHOTT has anchored responsibility for employees, society and the environment deeply in its DNA. The goal is to become a climate-neutral company by 2030.
Michael Müller
Head of Corporate Communications