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This Month’s Top Tech

2nd Nov 2020

Technological advancements are moving at the speed of light. Industries across the globe are continuously innovating to discover the latest in ground-breaking tech to improve our way of life. Here, Knight Optical – the industry-leading supplier of premium-quality, metrology-tested optical components – explores this month’s top tech. 

There are a plethora of sectors unearthing newfound ways of improving current technology for optimum operation. Our insatiable appetites for these innovations feed our need to go bigger and better every time. Here, we look at some of the leading and most-talked-about advancements from the past month from a selection of high-tech industries.

Entertainment & Design 

Let’s start with a sector we can all relate to – whether you’re a dedicated gamer, TV channel surfer or theatre-goer, the Entertainment & Design sector resonates with us more than you may think. And, the technology and associated optical components that are employed to ensure operation are rarely considered.

Take; for example, aerial cinematography. Once undertaken on aircraft such as helicopters, this form of filming has grown in favour of a more cost-effective unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) – drones. These UAVs are equipped with high-end cameras, brimming with optical components. This month, Photonics.com explored the development of drones being used in filmmaking and discovered how other industries, such as agriculture, are taking advantage of the same benefits offered to filmmakers1.

Here at Knight Optical, we are a regular supplier of premium-quality, custom-made and stock optical components for manufacturers of drones for entertainment (as well as other) applications.

For example, commonly specified components for drone cinematography are:

Automobile

Suffice to say, vehicles across the world are ever-evolving, and the development of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) has seen some of the most significant innovations in autonomous driving of our time. Highly sought-after cars, such as those manufactured by high-end names such as Tesla (whose AI team has evolved traditional LiDAR into a more advanced variety named ‘pseudo-LiDAR’2) rely on this top-level technology to sustain their industry-leading status.

One example of LiDAR development has recently been reported in Vision Spectra. According to the site, the well-known German automotive parts manufacturing company Continental is working with artificial perception pioneer AEye to develop a long-range LiDAR sensor3.

Stock and custom-made optics frequently specified by engineers and manufacturers working on LiDAR applications include (but are not limited to):

Medical & Research 

The medical and research industries have been subject to much activity of late. Following the pandemic, institutes, universities and medical research centres have been hard at work to discover a vaccine for COVID-19. As a result, here at Knight Optical, we’ve witnessed a surge in optical components amongst our customers working in these sectors.

One recent example of innovations within the medical and research field has recently been announced by the University of Rochester and the Fresnel Institute in France. Together, they have developed a method of visualising molecules’ positions and orientation in 3D. This is forecast to “allow for greater insights into the biological processes involved when a cell and the proteins that regulate its functions react to a COVID-194.”

Our custom-made and stock optical components specified for medical and research applications include (but are not limited to):

Imaging 

Imaging has come on leaps and bounds in recent years and is used across a broad spectrum of industries. From food processing to medical imaging and industrial applications, each sector has its own utilisation and much like other modern-day technology, it’s continually growing.

For example, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has recently developed a technology for imaging of deep brain structures at a synaptic resolution that “enables scientists to acquire information necessary to elucidating the ways in which the brain functions5”.

Our custom-made and stock optical components specified for imaging include (but are not limited to):

Aeronautics

Away from the madness of the pandemic, up in the air, innovation remains strong – from the aforementioned drones to the military and defence airborne devices as well as spaceborne applications. In fact, this month, NASA revealed that the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope’s primary mirror – which uses infrared (IR) light to study hidden structures – has been completed6.

Our custom-made and stock optical components specified for aeronautics include (but are not limited to):

Why Choose Knight Optical? 

Here at Knight Optical, we supply a range of optical components for a diverse range of applications. Discerning engineers and manufacturers rely on Knight Optical not only for the premium quality of our output and in-house state-of-the-art Metrology Laboratory and QA Department’s capabilities but also because – as well as a range of Stock Optics (available for next-day dispatch) – we also offer a range of sought-after Custom-Made Optical Components. If you’re looking for premium-quality, bespoke optical components, please do not hesitate to get in touch with a member of the Technical Sales Team today.

FOOTNOTES

1https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Drones_Deliver_a_Fresh_Take_on_Airborne_Imaging/a66116

2https://cleantechnica.com/2020/08/03/tesla-achieved-the-accuracy-of-lidar-with-its-advanced-computer-vision-tech/

3https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Continental_Expands_Lidar_Portfolio_with_AEye/a66320

4https://www.photonics.com/Articles/CHIDO_Offers_Insight_into_Cells_Molecules/a66309

5https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Adaptive_Optics_Two-Photon_Endomicroscopy/a66269

6https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Primary_Mirror_Completed_for_NASAs_Roman_Space/a66166