Interesting innovation

[Experimentalist]

Seems an age old problem in lens design has been solved:

https://petapixel.com/2019/07/05/goodbye-aberration-physicist-solves-2000-year-old-optical-problem/

TL,DR: A brilliant physicist has solved the centuries old challenge of designing lenses that deliver a sharp image from edge to edge.

This has implications for not only quality of image, but also weight and complexity. Which impacts cost.

Guessing it might be 5 - 8 years before we see product on the shelves, hopefully it'll be worth the wait.

[67Cuda]

Guessing it might be 5 - 8 years before we see product on the shelves, hopefully it'll be worth the wait.

Much of this will depend on manufacturability for it to feasible.
Sure you can make it work and prove it out, but it will come down to cost.

[Experimentalist]

Always an evolution from lab to assembly line, hence the 5 - 8 year estimate.

However... It appears to offer genuine cost economy. Fewer lenses required for better image quality. Also results in lower product weight.

Of course it remains to be seen who gets the cost savings. Manufacturer or customer.

[mmlook]

leave it to a Physicist to create an optical design that works on paper, but not in application.

the design only works for eliminating spherical aberrations, and they've only validated it with 550 data points.

If you run it though an optical design software, the secondary reflections will be terrible, unless you assume 100% transmission from both surfaces.

you can achieve the same level of performance if design a lens with zero thickness.

[Experimentalist]

leave it to a Physicist to create an optical design that works on paper, but not in application.

the design only works for eliminating spherical aberrations, and they've only validated it with 550 data points.

If you run it though an optical design software, the secondary reflections will be terrible, unless you assume 100% transmission from both surfaces.

you can achieve the same level of performance if design a lens with zero thickness.

Interesting insights. Sounds as if you have some experience in the optical field? I'm curious to know your basis for your statements?

[Brush Guard]

[mmlook]

Interesting insights. Sounds as if you have some experience in the optical field? I'm curious to know your basis for your statements?

yes, optical design and manufacturing for the past 4 years

these types of design are not new.
they are used a lot in IR optics, where the visual aspects do not matter

problem is they are super expensive to make,
IR optics are already expensive(about 5-10x depending on the material)