Innovations in the fields of quantum, manufacturing, healthcare, smart sensing, and autonomous transportation have been selected as finalists for the Prism Awards.
The annual event, now in its 13th year, recognises industrial innovation in photonics in multiple categories. The awards will take place during the Photonics West virtual event taking place from 6 to 11 March.
Emerging companies Lumedica and Qnami and returning Prism champions WaveOptics and nLight will share the stage alongside industry stalwarts such as IPG and Osram. Judges reviewed 149 applications from 18 countries.
'The finalists vying for the 2021 Prism Awards represent exciting innovations in the optics and photonics industry,' said SPIE CEO Kent Rochford. 'In a year when R&D has been understandably challenged, we still see tremendous work from our community in terms of developing products that enable healthcare, make our planet safer and cleaner, and improve manufacturing, while also looking into the future to continue to impact and enhance our daily lives. We congratulate all the applicants for the research, development, and perseverance necessary to bring a sellable technology to market and look forward to recognising the winners early next year.'
'The Prism Awards represent the preeminent honor for our industry and offer a window into the innovation taking place in established and emerging fields — from smart sensing to transportation to quantum and beyond,' said Tom Laurin, CEO of Photonics Media, a partner of the awards. 'It's our great pleasure to congratulate the 2021 finalists, and we wish them luck as the final round of voting takes place. If 2020 has taught us anything, it's that even a pandemic can't slow the progress of photonics in shaping our world."
A full list of the Prism Award finalists and their competing technologies:
Life Sciences
• Augmentiqs Medical, Augmentiqs 1000
• IPG Photonics, YLPF-FlexO
• OmniVision Technologies, OVM6948 CameraCubeChipTM
Manufacturing
• BMF (Boston Micro Fabrication), microArch S240
• IPG Photonics, LightWELD 1500
• nLight, AFX
Medical Devices
• Endofotonics, SPECTRA IMDxTM
• Lumedica Vision, OQ EyeScope
• Norlase, LION
Quality Control
• Ophir, LBS-300HP-NIR
• Teledyne DALSA, Linea HS 32k TDI Camera
• RoadVista, StripeMaster 3 Retroreflectometer
Quantum
• AUREA Technology, Quantum Entangled Twin Photon Source
• Element Six, DNV-B1TM
• Qnami, Qnami ProteusQ
Safety & Security
• Alakai Defense Systems, Situational Awareness for First Responders (SAFR)
• Cubert, ULTRIS 20 Hyperspectral Camera
• RaySecur, MailSecur mmWave Scanner
Software
• ALPhANOV, Immersive Photonics Lab
• Beijing JCZ Technology, EZCAD Laser Processing Software
• OptoTest, OPL-CLX Software Suite
Smart Sensing
• Luxmux, Ultrawide Tunable Fabry Perot Laser
• mirSense, New QCLs from 10µm to 17µm
• nanoLambda, Digital Nano Spectrometer
Transportation
• AEye, AEye 4Sight M
• Lumotive, X20 LiDAR
• SLD Laser, LaserLight W-IR SMD
Vision Technology
• Gamma Scientific, NED-LMD Waveguide Tester
• OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, 550 aperture PowerBoost VCSEL
• WaveOptics, WaveOptics Waveguide Platforms
