Optics

SPIE Photonics Europe launches student optical design competition for AR/VR

Oct. 10, 2017

SPIE is joining with world-leading companies in VR, AR, and MR to challenge students in optical design.

Students will have a chance to design AR and VR systems and compete for significant monetary awards as part of the SPIE Photonics Europe conference. Applications are due by 1 December 2017.

SPIE (Bellingham, WA) is joining with the world-leading companies in virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) head-mounted display hardware development to organize the first Student Optical Design Challenge at the Digital Optics for Immersive Displays (DOID) conference during SPIE Photonics Europe in April 2018.

Apply your creativity and university optics education to challenging, tangible industry specifications for today's immersive display products and make sure to submit your design abstracts by 1 December 2017. Visit the application webpage today.

The challenge offers four specific design challenges for students to address. A Jury--comprised of industry leaders sponsoring the event and world-leading academic figures in AR, VR, and MR--will review submissions and a 3-5 minute pitch by participants to determine three winners for each of the four challenges. Over 50,000 euros in cash and prizes will be awarded throughout the competition, thanks to generous sponsorships from several companies.

The four challenges are:

1. Designing a limited-FOV monocular see-through smart glass imaging system

2. Designing a compact optical combiner for see-through binocular AR

3. Designing a compact foveated optical imaging system for large FOV binocular VR

4. Designing a compact VAC mitigation display system for AR or VR

The full design description is due two weeks before the conference.

Review the full submission details and apply at http://spie.org/EPE/conferencedetails/doid-student-optical-design-challenge-for-vr-ar-and-mr.

Again, make sure to apply before 1 December 2017.

SOURCE: SPIE; http://spie.org/conferences-and-exhibitions/photonics-europe/student-optical-design-challenge-for-vr-ar-and-mr-?SSO=1

About the Author

Gail Overton | Senior Editor (2004-2020)

Gail has more than 30 years of engineering, marketing, product management, and editorial experience in the photonics and optical communications industry. Before joining the staff at Laser Focus World in 2004, she held many product management and product marketing roles in the fiber-optics industry, most notably at Hughes (El Segundo, CA), GTE Labs (Waltham, MA), Corning (Corning, NY), Photon Kinetics (Beaverton, OR), and Newport Corporation (Irvine, CA). During her marketing career, Gail published articles in WDM Solutions and Sensors magazine and traveled internationally to conduct product and sales training. Gail received her BS degree in physics, with an emphasis in optics, from San Diego State University in San Diego, CA in May 1986.