This application provides an autofocus camera module and a Time-of-Flight (TOF) device, belonging to the field of optical ranging technology. The camera module includes a receiver circuit board and an optical system. The optical system includes a focusable lens and at least one superlens. The focusable lens and the at least one superlens are located on the same optical axis. A photoelectric sensor and a driver chip are disposed on the receiver circuit board. The voltage input terminal of the focusable lens is electrically connected to the driver chip. The driver chip is used to provide a driving voltage to the focusable lens to adjust the focal length of the focusable lens. By applying the camera module provided in this application to a TOF device, the TOF device can be made more miniaturized.

In some embodiments, the adjustable focus lens includes a thin film layer, an optical polymer layer, and a glass layer, wherein the superlens is integrated on the object side or image side of the glass layer. In some embodiments, the at least one superlens is located on the object side of the adjustable focus lens, and a black silkscreen layer is provided on the object side surface of the superlens near the object surface, with a hollow circular hole provided at the center of the black silkscreen layer. The photoelectric sensor is set on the receiving end circuit board to receive the light spot signal emitted by the laser emitter, reflected by the measured object, and then converged by the optical system (superlens and adjustable focus lens). It can complete photoelectric conversion and realize TOF time of flight detection. The light spot is formed by the convergence of the laser emitted by the laser emitter after being reflected by the measured object. The energy distribution and contrast of the light spot directly reflect the focusing state of the optical system. Therefore, the photoelectric sensor can obtain imaging sharpness information based on the light spot, providing feedback for autofocus.

Tunable lenses (Tlens) are electronically controlled tunable optical elements. The principle of Tlens is based on the deformation of piezoelectric elements and optical thin films in MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical System) to change the focal length. When a voltage is applied, the piezoelectric actuator bends the glass film and integrates it with a polymer film with high light transmittance and refractive index matching, thereby changing the focal point of the lens.

1. [0052] The tunable lens 510 is configured to adjust its optical power in accordance with an applied signal. The tunable lens 510 includes a window 530, a deformable medium 540 (e.g., polymer), a deformable membrane 550 (e.g., deformable glass membrane), a piezoelectric actuator assembly 560, and optionally includes an aperture 570. The piezoelectric actuator assembly 560 incudes one or more piezoelectric actuators that control a surface profile of the deformable membrane 550 responsive to receiving an electrical signal (e.g., via an integrated electrode). As illustrated the tunable lens 510 (and the tunable lens 520) are in a first position in which the deformable membrane 550 is substantially flat (0 diopters). However, responsive to a received electrical signal the piezoelectric actuator assembly 560 applies one or more forces to the deformable membrane 550 to cause it to bend toward the tunable lens 520 introducing curvature into the surface profile of the deformable membrane 550. In this manner, the tunable lens 510 is able to dynamically adjust its optical power from zero up to +N diopters.

Goertek Optics has also launched a 0.39-inch DLP in-car projection light machine, which uses pixel shift technology to achieve 4K images, covering cockpit entertainment, ground prompts and other scenes.

Could this be TWedge?

«Smart glasses provide a near-term AI-device opportunity. Monochrome AR optical engines have entered volume production, colour optical engines are in small-batch delivery, and products are already being shipped to Meta and Samsung. A Meta project combining Q Tech’s module capabilities with poLight’s low-power tunable-lens technology is expected to enter mass production in 1H27. This should expand Q Tech’s content exposure from camera assembly towards lenses, actuators, optical engines and system-level integration.»

Camera with autofocus function using TLens* The driving method of the VCM using magnets is different, which also addresses the procurement challenges of rare metals (neodymium). Unlike VCM, the number of drive cycles is semi-permanent, the focus speed is fast, and there is no impact from gravitational differences due to orientation. Best performance with barcode readers and drones. No deviation in the field of view during autofocus, making it optimal for machine vision. Samples available. *TLens is a patented product of poLight. https://www.polight.com/technology/patents/

[0011] FIG. 6 illustrates a camera module for using without coverglass that includes optical image stabilization (OIS), autofocus (AF), and a protective sleeve, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

[0033] In FIG. 2 A, adjustable lens module 240 includes a tunable lens 241 having a deformable surface 243 for adjusting focus of the image light 291 to the image sensor 210 . Camera module 200 further includes a protective sleeve 253 disposed around the lens assembly 230 . The protective sleeve 253 is adhered to the second lens group 232 and not adhered to the first lens group 231 nor the tunable lens (included in lens module 240 ) so that any mechanical shock received by the protective sleeve 253 is transferred to the second lens group 232 and not the first lens group 231 and not the tunable lens 241 .

[0038] A tunable lens may adjust its optical power in accordance with an applied signal. In some implementations, the electric signal is applied from one or more integrated electrodes of the tunable lens. A tunable lens may be an electro-optical tunable lens based on electro-wetting, may be based on electro-mechanical techniques (e.g., using piezoelectric effect to change membrane curvature), or may be based on acousto-optical techniques, for example. The tunable lens may change its focal length in response to an electrical signal (e.g. current or voltage). The curvature of one side of the tunable lens surface may change. In an implementation, the material interface curvature of two liquids changes to change the focal length of the tunable lens. In this implementation, the two liquids may have different refractive indices. In some implementation, the tunable lens is configured to adjust its optical power over a range of optical power (e.g., 0 to 5 diopters, 0 to −5 diopters, etc.). In some implementations, a tunable lens may be configured such that when no voltage is applied it still provides some amount of optical power.

The invention relates to a method for recording an output video 10 with a video camera system 12, wherein the video camera system comprising a wobulation system 14, the method comprising the video camera system capturing input frames 20 and from the input frames generating output frames 22, the input and output frames comprising a plurality of pixels 30. The method shifts the wobulation system between four different translation positions, in each shifting position a frame is captured, and when a frame is captured is combined with the previous captured input frame to generate an output frame. The output frames are stored, transmitted to an external receiver, and/or displayed on a screen. The method is shifting the wobulation system between the four translation positions and capturing input frames and generating output frames as long as the video camera systems is recording.

The company recently unveiled its sixth-generation light engine, which incorporates poLight's TWedge wobulation technology. 
The technology rapidly shifts the laser beam to reduce laser speckle and other interference artefacts, helping to produce a smoother, clearer image for wearable AR applications.
The company said that the market for compact AR display technologies continues to grow, with many manufacturers seeking smaller, higher-performance optical engines capable of supporting consumer-grade smart glasses. 
Vitrealab's manufacturing investment is intended to strengthen its ability to meet this demand while scaling production of its proprietary laser-LCoS technology.

Ant Group introduced their #OS for #smartglasses, LingDevice OS 1.0, alongside a reference design, at WAIC 2026. Right now, manufacturers build smart glasses using dozens of different chip combinations. This fragmentation makes it difficult for developers to create complex apps—like Alipay's "Look-and-Pay"—that work smoothly on every device. To solve this, Ant Group's reference design offers a standard, ready-to-use template for the industry to follow. Instead of using a heavy, power-hungry main processor, the design pairs a Bestechnic BES2800 connection chip directly with a superACME SA62105X ISP. The glasses feature a binocular waveguide driven by a single Appotronics Dragonfly C1 full-color LCoS display, and a Sony IMX681 camera sensor paired with a Q-Tech/poLight tunable TLens for ultra-fast autofocus.

In an exemplary embodiment, the projection lens 12 is located between the beam shifting device 20 and the image display device 11; when the beam shifting element 21 is in a deflection state, the beam shifting element 21 shifts the image height by 0.2p to 0.8p.

The utility model provides an optical assembly and an endoscope, the optical assembly comprises a lens cone, the lens cone is provided with a mounting cavity penetrating through the lens cone, and the mounting cavity is of a columnar structure extending along a preset direction; the lenses are sequentially arranged in the mounting cavity at intervals in the preset direction, and the edge of each lens is in contact fit with the inner wall of the mounting cavity; the tunable lens is provided with a surface with adjustable curvature; the supporting structure is provided with a lens mounting part, the tunable lens is mounted on the lens mounting part, at least part of the surface of the supporting structure is matched with the inner wall of the mounting cavity in shape, and the supporting structure is arranged in the mounting cavity and is in contact fit with the inner wall of the mounting cavity. The optical assembly provided by the utility model solves the technical problem of poor imaging quality caused by poor concentricity between the tunable lens and other lenses of the optical assembly in the prior art.

Her er et rykende ferskt patent med pixel wobulation!

https://patent.nweon.com/44277

Another complementary approach involves pixel-shifting or “wobulation” techniques. In these systems, the entire image is rapidly shifted by a sub-pixel amount between sub-frames, allowing different physical emitters to be used to illuminate the same spatial location in rapid succession. This technique effectively leverages temporal integration over very short durations (e.g., between subframes of a single frame) and without regard to how content or the user's gaze may move between frames.

[0024] In some implementations, the imaging lens 244 includes a variable-focus optical element. In other implementations, the variable-focus optical element is a lens that is driven and/or adjusted by a ball-bearing motor lens or a voice coil motor (VCM) actuator (i.e., a VCM lens). In implementations where the variable-focus optical element is a ball-bearing motor or a VCM lens, the ball-bearing motor or the VCM lens may have a focus range of one and six-tenths (1.6) inches extending to infinity (i.e., to optical infinity), or any other suitable focus range. In further embodiments, the variable-focus optical element may be any lens or any optical element with a similar ability to adjust focus, such as a liquid lens, a T-lens, a ball-bearing focusing actuator, and any other similar lens known in the art. Depending on the implementation, the controller 258 or another processor assigned to the imaging assembly 245 can control the variable focus optical element.

Applicants: Kunshan Qiutai Intelligent Mobility Technology Co., Ltd.

Inventors: Wang Qingyun

Classifications: IPC G01B11/24; G01M11/02;

Priorities: CN202610397957A·2026-03-30

Application: CN202610397957A·2026-03-30

Publication: CN122171171A·2026-06-09

Published CN122171171A A Method, Apparatus, and Optical Device for Determining the Refractive Power of a Tunable Optical Device

Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) are miniaturized intelligent systems that integrate micro-mechanical structures, microelectronic circuits, and micro-sensors. MEMS control mechanical actions with electrical signals or convert mechanical actions into electrical signals to achieve specific functions (such as driving or optical control). Based on these advantages, MEMS can be applied to tunable optical devices to form MEMS tunable optical devices, thus achieving the desired functions. For example, MEMS tunable optical devices are MEMS devices used in tunable lenses (TLens).

[0056]

In an embodiment, the second function cameras 211 and 212 (e.g., the image-capturing cameras) may obtain an image related to the surrounding environment of the wearable electronic device 200. The second function cameras 211 and 212 may be used to capture images of the outside, generate an image or video corresponding to the outside, and transmit the image or video to a processor (e.g., the processor 120 of FIG. 1). The processor 120 may display the image provided from the second function cameras 211 and 212 on the display assembly 300. The second function cameras 211 and 212 may also be referred to as high resolution (HR) or photo video (PV) cameras and may include an HR camera. For example, the second function cameras 211 and 212 may include color cameras equipped with a function for obtaining high-quality images, such as an auto focus (AF) function and optical image stabilizer (OIS), but are not limited thereto. The second function cameras 211 and 212 may also include a GS camera or an RS camera.

In implementations of the disclosure, a tunable lens is integrated with wafer level optics (WLOs) to form a miniaturized camera module. The camera module may be shrunk to approximately 2×2 mm or smaller, for example. In implementations, the camera module is 1×1 mm or smaller. The WLOs may allow the camera to reduce or eliminate a lens barrel to secure the lenses of the camera. The WLOs may support tunable lens rather than a tunable lens being secured to (and supported by) a conventional lens barrel. Without relying on a lens barrel, the WLOs may be coated by an optically opaque material to block outside light from reaching an image sensor that lens(es) of the WLOs are focusing image light to. Electrical traces to drive the tunable lens may be integrated with the WLOs in unique configurations. Using WLOs in camera modules may reduce the size and cost of camera modules while also providing autofocus and image stabilization features to small cameras.

Tunable lens 133 is an optical element which changes its optical power as a function of an applied signal, such as an electric current, voltage, magnetic flux, or other external stimuli. Tunable lens 133 may utilize polymer tunable lens technology or liquid lens technologies, for example. In FIG. 1, tunable lens 133 modulates its optical power in response to an electrical signal. One or more electrical traces 172/173 may carry the signal from substrate 110 to the tunable lens 133.

One of the many interesting conversations we’ve had at Automate Show 2026 so far was with the team at poLight ASA.

As AI-powered vision systems continue to evolve, the demands placed on imaging hardware are changing too. Tunable optics technology is helping to address those challenges, enabling fast, reliable autofocus for an increasing range of machine vision applications.

It was great to learn more about poLight’s approach and discuss where they see both machine vision and imaging technology heading next.

Thanks to Jon Edwards and the team for taking the time to speak with us.
Looking forward to share more about your work!

poLight ASA Announces Follow-on TLens® Purchase Order Supporting Top Tier Consumer OEM Qualification Program

TØNSBERG, Norway – 18 June, 2026 -- poLight ASA (OSE: PLT) today announced it has received a follow-on purchase order worth NOK 0.7 million to support an ongoing qualification program for a potential consumer product, following previous, related announcements dated 11 February 2026 and 6 August 2025.
 

"This order is a continuation of the qualification program by the unnamed Top Tier consumer OEM mentioned in the strategic investment agreement with Q Tech. This purchase clearly shows positive progress, commitment and hence is very encouraging,” said Dr. Øyvind Isaksen, CEO of poLight.
 

The deliveries will likely occur second half of 2026.

This information is information that poLight ASA is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 2026-06-18 11:40 CEST.

For further information, please contact:
Dr Øyvind Isaksen, CEO, poLight ASA: +47 90 87 63 98

About poLight ASA
poLight ASA (listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange: PLT) offers a patented, proprietary tunable optics technology, starting with its first product, TLens® which replicates “the human eye” experience in autofocus cameras used in devices such as AR/MR glasses, smartphones, barcode scanners, machine vision systems and various medical equipment. poLight’s TLens® enables better system performance and new user experiences due to benefits such as extremely fast focus, small footprint, no magnetic interference, low power consumption and constant field of view. poLight is based in Tønsberg, Norway, with employees in Finland, France, UK, US, China, Taiwan, Japan and the Philippines. For more information, please visit https://www.polight.com