Photonics21 highlights the potential of photonics for defence, virtual worlds and high perfromance computing

Photonics21 has published three thematic reports which focus on industrial applications of high relevance for photonic technologies: Defence, Virtual Worlds and High Performance Computing. The reports, conducted by French market intelligence group Tematys, outline the respective markets and analyse the potential of photonics for these sectors. They also provide a reflection on the European Commission´s defence industrial strategy, the Virtual Worlds strategy as well as the European strategy for High Performance Computing. All reports are now available for download.

Entitled Photonics – an essential technology for defence, the report analyses the role, potential, and opportunities of photonics technologies in defence applications and demonstrates their impact on current and future defence systems. The trend towards optically based imaging, remote sensing, communications, and weapons in modern defence systems highlights the importance of maintaining European leadership in photonics to retain its position in the military and industrial defence sectors. Photonics plays a crucial role in various defence applications due to its ability to manipulate and control light for a wide range of purposes. As countries outside of Europe rapidly enhance their defence capabilities, it is imperative for Europe to advance and master photonics technologies. Fostering these innovations will ensure Europe remains secure and competitive on the global stage.

You can download the report here.

The second report Photonics for Virtual Worlds analyses the role of photonics in the AR VR xR market. The umbrella term xR encompasses VR, AR, and MR. xR devices contain many of the most advanced photonic technologies, from freeform, metasurfaces, waveguides, microdisplays, and high-index substrates to diffractive components. Even though the market of consumer xR devices is dominated by American and Asian companies, the xR market offers great opportunities for European companies that have the right expertise for designing and manufacturing certain components.

You can read the full report here.

The third report entitled Photonics for High Performance Computing discusses the potential photonics technologies offer to this field. HPC is indispensable in all EU strategic economic sectors such as automotive, manufacturing, space, as well as in the new data-driven European digital economy. Europe currently lags other global leaders in the development of photonics for HPC. Photonics plays a crucial role in HPC as it provides faster data transmission and lower latency, which are essential for the high data processing demands of HPC. Photonics technologies further improve energy efficiency, addressing the power consumption and heat dissipation challenges in HPC environments. As data and computational needs continue to grow exponentially, photonics is increasingly recognised as a key enabler for the next generation of HPC and AI, securing its place as the backbone of these systems.

You can access the report here.

This article was first published on 1 October by Photonics21.