LASER World of Photonics Startup Challenge Awards

The winners of the second biannual Startup Challenge were announced at the LASER World of Photonics expo in Munich. Winners received monetary prizes as well as promotional support.

Startup Winner: Eran Hochstadter, head of business at ContinUse Biometrics. Courtesy of SPIE.

Eran Hochstadter, of ContinUse Biometrics, a new contactless biometric scanning company, based in Tel Aviv, Israel, was the overall winner. The company produces an integrated, remote and contactless sensing technology that authenticates users and monitors their physiological state. The technology performs active and continuous biometrics, geared toward the eHealth, IoT, mobile and consumer goods markets.

Second place was awarded to ATR Elements, based in Gilching, Germany. This startup has developed an infrared spectroscopy process for blood testing, said to be much cheaper and more efficient than existing alternatives.

Crystalline Mirror Solutions, a spin-off of fundamental physics research at the University of Vienna by Garrett Cole and Markus Aspelmeyer, received third place. The company manufactures low-noise reflective optics using a proprietary, patented coating technology.

The Startup Challenge was judged by a panel of industry experts, and awards were presented by various representatives of industry, Messe München, and AZO, a Bavarian hub of Germany’s aerospace industry.