News in Brief

KURZ Hands Over the Baton

1 February, 2023 was a special day and a milestone in the history of LEONHARD KURZ – a pioneer in the mass commercialisation of holography for both security and decorative applications. On that day Walter and Peter Kurz, who had shared the position of CEO for many years, handed over the baton of leadership to the new CEO, Dr Andreas Hirschfelder.

Dr Hirschfelder has been part of the company for 26 years and brings in-depth experience as well as comprehensive knowledge of the challenges and needs of KURZ’s customers, the company says. The hope is that he will preserve the established while always moving forward and thinking ahead in order to continue offering sophisticated solutions in the future, it added.

For more than 30 years, the secure document industry, and banknotes in particular, have become familiar with holographic and other diffractive image security features transferred onto the document via KURZ’s surface applied foils.

The KURZ USA LinkedIn post reads: ‘The KURZ family is proud and happy to welcome Dr Hirschfelder as our new CEO. We are facing the future full of confidence and looking forward to working together to strengthen KURZ’s pioneering role as a sustainable, innovative, and international company.’ 

MicroCloud Hologram Announces Holographic Developments

Nasdaq-listed MicroCloud Hologram has announced multiple developments in a series of press releases.

The first is the development of algorithms for generating 3D holographic digital content based on computer imaging technology. In the computer-generated hologram (CGH) technology developed by MicroCloud Hologram, it is claimed that the dot matrix-based algorithm represents 3D holographic objects by millions of dot matrixes, where each pixel of the object is represented by a dot that irradiates the spherical wave of the holographic digital content. The complex amplitude distribution of the holographic digital content can be obtained by superimposing all the target points. The computational burden can be significantly reduced by calculating the points of all possible objects in advance and storing them in the computer.

The second announcement concerns a point cloud algorithm to reduce the noise (denoising) in a real-time 3D holographic reconstruction of single-photon LiDAR data. The algorithm applies a point cloud denoising tool for computer graphics and can efficiently model the target surface as a 2D manifold embedded in 3D space. According to MicroCloud Hologram, the algorithm can merge information about the observed model, uses stream modelling tools for computer graphics and can process tens of frames per second by selecting massively parallel noise reducers.

And thirdly, MicroCloud Hologram has announced the launch of a holographic brain-computer Interface (BCI) data acquisition system. In the announcement it is claimed that holographic technology can be used as an information feedback tool for BCI systems, providing more realistic imagery and stimulating contextual feedback for an immersive user experience.

Inprentus Enters the Augmented Reality Market

Inprentus designs, manufactures, and sells X-ray and EUV diffraction gratings for synchrotron and free electron laser facilities, as well as diffraction grating masters for spectroscopy applications. The company, founded in 2012 to commercialise a nano-scale scribing technology, is now supplying blazed diffractive waveguide masters that can be used for rapid prototyping and mass production of Augmented Reality (AR) headset eyepieces.

The company, which has been a supplier of custom diffractive optics to a variety of industries, employs a unique nanoscale contact mode lithography technique that combines ultra-high precision mechanical ruling of metallic surfaces and a variety of proprietary control software, sensor technology and materials science techniques. This method is designed to produce blazed diffractive patterns on optical surfaces for controlling light. The company’s nanoscale contact mode lithography process is claimed to be ideal for manufacturing master diffractive optics used for prototyping, as well as high-volume replication.

Inprentus’ blazed patterns can include a wide range of blaze angles, variable line spacing for focusing and image correction. Multiple blazed patterns (gratings) can be precisely oriented on a surface to create an AR eyepiece.

These structures will be used in the next generation of AR glasses by projecting images from outside of the lens, through the waveguide, and then to the eye without the use of bulky ‘birdbath’ optics ¹ or non-blazed waveguide patterns, both of which have drawbacks, including low efficiency and higher product manufacturing costs. The Inprentus nanoscale contact mode lithography technique allows multiple gratings, such as input, expander, and output patterns, to be manufactured using the same setup.

Peter Abbamonte, Inprentus’ Chief Science Officer, noted that ‘the company’s experience over the past ten years, first as a provider of high value, x-ray diffraction gratings for materials research facilities around the world, then as a producer of gratings for precision spectroscopy and semiconductor lithography, has given us the skills we need to meet the stringent requirements of the AR market.’ 

Inprentus is now one of the leading manufacturers of custom blazed diffraction gratings worldwide, having delivered over 50 unique projects for visible light, extreme ultraviolet, and x-ray wavelength applications.

H&M Store Enhances Immersive Strategy with Hologram Display

H&M is a multinational clothing company based in Sweden which has developed a new athletic clothing line called ‘Move’. As part of the programme to promote Move, the H&M store in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York, has installed a Proto hologram display. The idea combines a store experience with an advertising campaign for H&M Move, offering classes from dance and fitness studios Grind House and Good Move.

The store is at 92 N 6th Street and the Proto Epic is built into the window display, presenting life size 4K holograms of models and dance and fitness instructors wearing H&M Move outfits.

Apart from H&M, Proto’s other retail and apparel partners include Burberry, Richemont’s IWC, Harry Winston, Walmart and the NFL Shop.

Proto is also known for holoporting people around the world for live interactive experiences, including Paris Hilton, Howie Mandel and P Diddy.

1 - The term ‘birdbath’ comes from the spherical mirror/combiner that looks like a typical birdbath.