Chinese ultra short focus lenses catch up with Japanese companies and ignite the ultra short focus projection market

Author: Morning Bird Information 

2023-09-07 19:55 

Original link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/DgIAJAya76OVrZfx-qy7zg

The Light Expo is underway, with ultra short focus becoming a highlight

On September 6th, the world's largest exhibition in the optoelectronics industry, the 24th China International Optoelectronics Expo (Optoelectronics Expo), was held in Shenzhen, with 12 exhibition halls and over 3000 exhibitors, covering the entire optoelectronic industry chain of optical display, communication, laser, sensing, and more.

Early Bird Information has always been the most concerned about optical displays, which, as one of the few industries growing against the trend in 2022, shone brightly at this optical expo.

Through the author's first day of on-site exploration, a special highlight was discovered, which is China's technological breakthrough in the field of ultra short focus lenses, igniting the comprehensive flowering of ultra short focus optical products.

Far ahead, far ahead!

A few years ago, the ultra short focus projection (also known as laser TV), which was priced at around 10000 to 20000 yuan, quietly broke through Ricoh's patent technology monopoly in the field of ultra short focus lenses during the epidemic, directly lowering the retail price from 10000 to 20000 yuan to 3000 yuan, driving a comprehensive market explosion.

According to industry reports from Lotu, the growth rate of ultra short focus projection in 2022 far exceeds the 14% growth rate of the entire projection market, reaching 24%.

Moreover, from the on-site view of the Light Expo, it is not only projection products, but also in products such as intelligent car cabins, desktop interactive education and learning, smart home appliance displays, VR, AR, etc., ultra short focus optical technology has blossomed in all directions and has become a key underlying technology for industrial upgrading.

Overall, Chinese ultra short focus optical display products that have broken through the patent restrictions of Japanese companies on ultra short focus lens technology have established a basic market pattern that is far ahead.

The User Value of Ultra Short Focus Lenses

In front of a booth specializing in the production of ultra short focus projection lenses at Hall 5 of the Light Expo, there was a mix of people, which aroused the author's interest.

Traditional projector lenses require a distance of two to three meters to achieve large images, so consumers need a lot of space to achieve large image output.

But as projection equipment enters thousands of households and becomes more and more popular in households, the projection distance of traditional projectors has become a constraint that hinders the development of projectors.

The use of ultra short focus lenses can make good use of small spaces, shorten the projection distance from two to three meters to 20-30 centimeters, and achieve the projection image size that used to require a larger space to display when attached to the wall.

If you have children at home, it is even more recommended to choose an ultra short focus projector. Children can freely move around in the living space, no matter how they play, the screen will not be blocked, and they will not be blinded by light. Family interaction and entertainment are more free and comfortable.

Domestic Pingti, fierce as ever

Over the years, in the home projection market, ultra short focus lenses that are highly regarded have been widely used in high-end laser TVs priced over 10000 yuan.

However, in the past two years, multiple manufacturers have been engaged in a fierce battle at a price of 3000 yuan. I believe some friends can also guess the reason - localization has arrived.

Consumers can enjoy the convenience of ultra short focus projection for less than one-third of the original price because the domestic ultra short focus lens technology upstream of the projector brand has made significant breakthroughs.

Before 2021, many consumers were hesitant about ultra short focus projection due to its high cost. Many companies are reluctant to venture into ultra short focus projection products, but their efforts are insufficient, resulting in a low market penetration rate for ultra short focus projection.

But starting from 2021, brands such as Nut, Fengmi, Hisense, Dangbei, and AOC have started to exert their efforts, with prices significantly reduced and the market entering a growth period. The total global sales have exceeded 600000 units.

If we only look at absolute values, the numbers may not be very eye-catching, but it should be noted that in the past two years, many industries have felt a chill, while ultra short focus projection has risen tens of times against the trend, showing its great potential.

Ultra Short Focus Lens and Intelligent Cockpit of Automobile

Ultra short focus lenses not only make a comprehensive breakthrough in home projection. Moreover, in the era of intelligent car cabins, they have also become an important source of innovation and upgrading technology.

The market space for in car displays is vast, including providing driving assistance, human-computer interaction experience for passengers, and entertainment functions, including roof canopy, transparent window display, entertainment large screen, AR-HUD, and ShyTech smart surface.

Due to the limited interior space of the car, telephoto optical technology is difficult to apply inside the car.

The ultra short focus optical display technology, which can project ultra large images in narrow spaces, perfectly solves the technical difficulties of intelligent car cabins. With a high sense of technology, it adds highlights to the design of intelligent car cabins, improving the overall level and attractiveness of the vehicle.

Ultra Short Focus Lens and Smart Home Appliances

The ultra short focus lens technology is also seamlessly integrating with smart home appliances, providing a hidden ultra large screen display experience for dozens of smart home appliances.

For example, at the Shengyang Optical booth, the author saw a stunning "new generation intelligent central control" with a volume of only 5 inches but a hidden 20 inch display

Ultra Short Focus Lens and Smart Home Appliances

The ultra short focus lens technology is also seamlessly integrating with smart home appliances, providing a hidden ultra large screen display experience for dozens of smart home appliances.

For example, at the Shengyang Optical booth, the author saw a stunning "new generation intelligent central control" with a volume of only 5 inches but a hidden 20 inch display wall.

Ultra short focus optics perfectly integrates visual experience with various user needs in the direction of whole house intelligence, and will also become the standard configuration for the next generation of smart home appliances. The author believes that Dr. Li Wenzong, the founder of Shengyang Optics, has a very fitting statement that clearly explains the essence of the upgrade of smart home appliances - "Every smart home appliance has a heart for display.".

Ultra short focus and VR, AR

In VR and AR products, ultra short focus optical technology has also become the basic optical technology of the entire industry in recent years.

This year, Apple released the Vision Pro, with the ultra short focus optical module accounting for 17% of the cost, second only to Micro OLED.

Facebook, Liangliang Vision, Gudong Technology, and others have also released their own ultra short focus AR optical modules.

Ultra short focus technology, a decade of monopoly by Ricoh in Japan

It can be foreseen that ultra short focus technology is becoming one of the most core technologies in the subsequent projection, automotive display, smart home appliances, and virtual reality markets, and will also become a watershed for consumers to recognize product upgrades and brand differentiation.

Looking back at the history of the development of ultra short focus technology. From the late stage of World War I, ultra short focus optical technology emerged due to the need for submarines to display large screen command systems in extremely narrow spaces. After World War II, it was commercialized by Philips as a rear projection television.

In 2003, the first generation technology of modern ultra short focus lenses was invented by NEC in Japan, and the projection product model launched on the market was WT600.

Until 2012, Ricoh in Japan launched the second-generation ultra short focus lens technology, which formed a technological gap with the first generation lens. The model on the market was WX4130, which monopolized over 60% of the global ultra short focus projection industry market share in just 2/3 years, while the rest were occupied by products that imitated Ricoh's patents.

Until 2022, most ultra short focus projectors worldwide use Ricoh ultra short focus lenses, including the current invention company of laser television, Hisense. Currently, ultra short focus lenses can only use patented products from Ricoh in Japan.

China's Ultra Short Focus Lens Company Reveals Secrets

At the Light Expo, the author saw many providers of ultra short focus lenses. Below, we will introduce these companies that have promoted the comprehensive popularization of ultra short focus optical technology.

Shenzhen Shengyang Optics

Shenzhen Shengyang Optical Technology Co., Ltd. is one of the most popular booths at this optical expo. The slogan written in the most prominent part of the booth is "Independent patented technology, global sales accessible".

From this sentence, it can also be seen that this company has strong confidence in its own patented technology.

Under its company logo, there is also a prominent inscription "Leader in Ultra Short Focus Optics".

According to the exhibition staff, Shengyang Optics was founded by Dr. Li Wenzong, who developed the world's first laser TV. It took a full four years to break through Ricoh's patent technology blockade in Japan.

With the same imaging quality as Ricoh's ultra short focus lenses in Japan, from patents to prototypes, to pilot and mass production, all mass production work was completed in 2023 and officially sold to the market.

The staff also proudly expressed to the author that Shengyang Optics can provide the internationally recognized FTO Global Patent Free Implementation Legal Report to all customers. This is also the only ultra short focus lens company in recent years, apart from Ricoh, that dares to provide a patent FTO report.

At this exhibition, Shengyang Optics brought many new applications in various fields.

The desktop education interactive product developed by its customers using the Shengyang ultra short focus lens has attracted a large number of viewers for on-site experience.

The world's first 0.16 DMD ultra short focus lens on display here has attracted a lot of onlookers.

The booth staff introduced that this ultra short focus lens has a projection ratio of 0.25 and can provide high-quality imaging in 10-60 inches. This mini lens can not only be embedded in IoT devices such as household appliances, but also facilitate downstream consumer electronics brands to develop portable large screen products. And it has rich applications in fields such as car window projection and internal large/split screens. Ultra short focus display will integrate various high-tech to meet the dual interactive pursuit of users for visual and immersive viewing experiences.

Tianjin Yipu Optoelectronics

Chinese companies that offer ultra short focus lenses at the Light Expo, as well as Yipu Optoelectronics (Tianjin) Co., Ltd.

The company was founded in 2018, and its founding team graduated from the Micro and Nano Manufacturing Laboratory of Tianjin University. Before producing ultra short focus lens products, it was already a well-known domestic enterprise in the design and processing of free form optical lenses.

At the venue of this optical expo, Yipu Optoelectronics exhibited multiple ultra short focus lenses, as well as ultra short focus projection optical machine modules based on DLP and LCOS display chips, such as wrist projection, table projection, wall projection, and laser TV, with a projection ratio of less than 0.3 and a projection size spanning 15-100 inches. Its ultra short focus lens has also been applied to the ultra short focus projection of multiple projection companies, including Jimi and Huole.

Chengdu Jinghua Optoelectronics

When it comes to Jinghua Optoelectronics, many people may be unfamiliar with it, but its Huishi projection brand can be considered a newcomer in the projection industry.

Chengdu Jinghua Optoelectronics was established in 1997 and has always been a strong upstream enterprise in the industry chain from glass melting to lens processing in the projection industry. Xunda Optoelectronics, a subsidiary of Xunda Optoelectronics, has 15 years of experience in the research and manufacturing of intelligent projection machines, serving numerous domestic intelligent projection brands.

Since 2019, Jinghua Optoelectronics has been developing and producing ultra short focus lenses and ultra short focus machines. In product development, engineers found that the original LED light source combined with an ultra short focus solution had high technical difficulties on the ground, because the original laser light source was a directional light source, which had better beam characteristics. Compared to LED light sources, lasers had more than 20% of the beam interface, which posed challenges to the brightness of the light and the volume of the product. After repeated exploration, Jinghua Optoelectronics finally achieved the matching and balance between the three major requirements of ultra short focus projection: short focal length, compact product, and high brightness.

Zhongshan United Optoelectronics

As an established enterprise in the field of optics, Zhongshan United Optoelectronics has formed a complete industrial chain in the fields of optical imaging, light display, and light perception, from optical design, mold design, precision machining, and development to fully intelligent assembly and manufacturing systems.

In 2022, the ultra short focus laser projection lens of United Optoelectronics achieved a breakthrough from 0 to 1 in production technology, successfully solving the production difficulties of reflectors and mastering the key processing technology of ultra short focus lenses. With leading technological advantages, it was the first to launch the world's smallest 4k resolution ultra short focus lens.

epilogue

The above manufacturers have made numerous contributions to the localization of ultra short focus lens products. In the past two years, these companies have shipped over 150000 sets of ultra short focus lenses, severely impacting the ultra short focus lens industry monopolized by Ricoh in Japan. Enable global users to enjoy ultra short focus projection, which was previously considered a luxury item, at a lower price.

Recently, Huawei's breakthrough in Kirin chips has been inspiring to Chinese people, and besides Huawei, we can see many enterprises that insist on independent research and development and pursue excellence breaking through in domestic substitution at the China International Light Industry Expo.

In the future, we hope that these enterprises can continue to move forward on the path of independent research and development, like Huawei, and contribute more Chinese wisdom and strength to global technological development.