Nanophotonic lightguide keeps images always-in-focus

This nanophotonic lightguide addresses VAC (Vergence-Accommodation Conflict), a common issue of visual discomfort, such as nausea and eye strain often associated with AR/VR/XR headsets.

CEO and co-founder Dr Pawan Shrestha explained that AllFocal's proprietary technology projects digital images directly onto the user's retina, ensuring that the virtual content remains in focus regardless of how the eyes adjust to the surrounding environment.

“Your retina becomes the ‘screen’. This bypasses the eye’s accommodation response, ensuring the content always appears in focus,” he said. “The image is formed directly in your visual field.  By eliminating the mismatch between vergence and accommodation, we’re fundamentally eliminating one of the core barriers to long-term comfort in AR and VR.”

The lightguides are designed to be compatible with existing displays like LCD, micro-OLED or other commercial displays. The technology enables users to view digital images clearly without the need for prescription glasses, even if they have vision impairments such as myopia, hyperopia, or astigmatism - and it achieves this without any moving parts or liquid lenses. Moreover, the lightguides' compatibility with current manufacturing processes supports faster adoption into existing hardware. Dr Shrestha anticipates a fabless business model when the technology comes to fruition.

One application is in head-up displays (HUDs) and to that end, AllFocal Optics is working with Jaguar-Land Rover and aiming for commercial availability in 18 months following trials in 2025.

Dr Shrestha added that AllFocal Optics is also working with headset manufacturers to incorporate the technology into their headsets.

“Jaguar Land Rover are like the end customer who would use our technologies,” he said. “ Early adoption by leading global brands validates the commercial potential of our technology and its readiness for real-world integration..”

In November 2024, AllFocal Optics secured $5.3m in funding, including a $3.6m equity raise led by SpeedInvest and grants from Innovate UK. Ash Saulsbury, former head of Meta’s AR programme and previously VP of technology at Microsoft, described the nanophotonic lightguide technology as ‘revolutionary’. He subsequently joined the company as a chairman.