Following Group Gorgé’s acquisition of iXblue last month, ECA Group and iXblue announced that both companies will operate under the common brand name Exail. The company will specialize in robotics, maritime, navigation, aerospace, and photonics technologies. HAMAMATSU, Japan — Hamamatsu Photonics and Indica Labs — a provider of quantitative digital pathology and image management solutions — formalized an agreement to maintain long-term interoperability between Indica Labs’ HALO AP software platform and Hamamatsu’s NanoZoomer family of high-speed, high-resolution scanners. As laboratories increasingly adopt digital solutions, the collaboration aims to streamline the process of integrating an array of hardware and software at maximum efficiency. Hamamatsu’s technical collaboration with Indica Labs will facilitate Indica Labs’ approach to regulatory clearances using the HALO AP system in conjunction with the NanoZoomer S360MD for primary diagnosis. ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Together with Hamamatsu Photonics and Thorlabs Inc., Menlo Systems will sponsor the Theodor W. Hänsch Prize in Quantum Optics, created by the Optica Foundation. The prize provides recognition and funding for early-career members of Optica as they pursue projects that have the potential to make a meaningful and positive impact in the areas of optics-enabled quantum technologies. Named after Menlo Systems co-founder and director at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, Nobel laureate, and professor Theodor W. Hänsch, the prize honors his seminal contributions to quantum optics and precision metrology. The inaugural prize application process will open on Jan. 8, 2023, and will close on March 8, 2023. To extend production capacity and office space, laser scanning solutions company SCANLAB will expand its Puchheim, Germany, facility. Courtesy of SCANLAB. PUCHHEIM, Germany — SCANLAB GmbH is extending its company building in Puchheim, Germany, to support paving continuous growth while increasing its production capacity. The expanded facility will feature approximately 18,700 sq m of floor space. ESPOO, Finland — Dispelix, a designer and manufacturer of waveguides for enterprise augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) wearables, partnered with two companies to advance laser beam scanning (LBS) solutions for AR glasses. The company will work with ColorChip, a designer and manufacturer of photonic integrated circuits based on its home-grown planar light circuit waveguide technology, and Maradin Ltd., a developer of 1D and 2D microelectromechanical scanning (MEMS) mirrors and mirror controllers. The collaboration integrates Dispelix diffractive waveguide displays, a Color Chip PLC beam combiner, and Maradin MEMS projection technology for LBS. Advantages to LBS for AR glasses include small form factor glasses that are lightweight and enabled by thin, full-color waveguide displays with compact, low-power LBS projectors; high brightness; and high color optimization via pixel-to-pixel control. SEOUL, South Korea — Rivada Space Networks (RSN) signed a partnership agreement with SpeQtral, a provider of quantum-secure communications systems, to demonstrate the technical compatibility of adding a quantum key distribution (QKD) encryption layer to enhance the security of communications over low-Earth-orbit satellite constellations. In 2024, RSN plans to start the launch of its 600-satellite laser-connected constellation with four precursor satellites, and SpeQtral will launch its QKD satellite, SpeQtral-1. This will allow RSN and SpeQtral to jointly establish quantum-secure data links over the RSN precursor satellites and validate both the space and ground station terminals required for QKD-enabled encrypted traffic on the RSN constellation, according to RSN. SYDNEY — Baraja, a wavelength-tunable laser-enabled lidar technology developer and creator of the Spectrum-Scan solution for autonomous vehicles, entered into an advanced development agreement with a major automotive OEM to develop its Spectrum HD25 lidar product specifically for automotive integration. Baraja entered the agreement alongside its partner, Tier 1 automotive supplier Veoneer, to accelerate the scale required for automotive integration. Under the agreement, Baraja will enter the next stage of development for Spectrum HD25, which is built on Baraja’s Spectrum-Scan solid-state scanning platform. LOS ANGELES — Mynaric will provide Northrop Grumman with optical communications terminals for 14 satellites as part of the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) Tranche 1 Tracking Layer program. Each satellite will feature a wide-field-of-view infrared sensor, three optical communications terminals, and a Ka-band payload for communications. Mynaric will supply 42 CONDOR Mk3 terminals to Northrop Grumman for the program, with the product deliveries expected mostly in 2024 for deployment in 2025. The Tranche 1 Tracking Layer will detect, identify, and track hypersonic weapons and other advanced missiles from their earliest stages of launch through interception. Once fully deployed in 2025, the Tranche 1 Tracking Layer satellites will operate in up to four low-Earth orbital planes, interconnected with Tranche 1 Transport Layer satellites. The SDA selected Northrop Grumman as one of its two prime contractors for its Tranche 1 Tracking Layer as part of the initial Missile Warning/Missile Tracking capability of the National Defense Space Architecture. LYON TOWNSHIP, Mich. — ZEISS unveiled its Quality Excellence Center, near Detroit. The facility, for the Industrial Quality and Research segment of ZEISS, is represented in the U.S. by Carl Zeiss Industrial Quality Solutions. The site contains a modern work environment and a more advanced setting for customers to browse quality assurance technologies in the showroom. The site spans more than 7500 sq m with two floors providing space for almost 170 employees. ZEISS celebrates the grand opening of the new Quality Excellence Center in Wixom, Michigan, with the official ribbon-cutting. Courtesy of ZEISS. BARRINGTON, N.J. — Edmund Optics and SCHOTT advanced their strategic partnership to provide customers in Asia easy access to high-quality optical glass filters. Both Edmund Optics and SCHOTT can now leverage each other’s supply chains to bring increased efficiency to the filter glass market in China. An inventory of 58 types of SCHOTT filter glasses will be kept in stock and are available in 12.5-, 25-, and 50-mm round and square sizes, the companies said. SIGNAPORE — Evident Scientific will celebrate the grand opening of its APAC headquarters in Singapore Oct. 25. The campus includes the Evident APAC Technology Centre, Omni-Theatre, Microscopy Centre, and the Service and Repair Centre. AMSTERDAM — The European Commission has launched the European infrastructure for Rydberg Quantum Computing (EuRyQa) project, aimed at establishing Rydberg quantum processors as a leading platform for scalable quantum computing in Europe. Assembling 11 partners from seven countries, EuRyQa is funded under the Horizon Europe program with a total budget of close to €5 million ($4.8 million) over the next three years. WOLFSBURG, Germany — The Volkswagen Group and quantum computing company Xanadu established a multiyear research program to improve the performance of quantum algorithms for simulating battery materials. The goal is to reduce computational costs and accelerate Volkswagen’s adoption of quantum computers to develop battery materials that are safer, lighter, and more cost-effective. STOCKHOLM — Arelion completed a series of trials with Acacia and Cisco over multiple, third-party, open-line systems; on a live fiber route with existing ROADM infrastructure between Hamburg and Copenhagen, Arelion successfully used Acacia Bright 400ZR+ QSFP-DD coherent modules with greater than +1 dBm transmit power between Cisco 8000 and NCS 5700 router platforms. The trial demonstrated the seamless integration of routed optical networking with dense wavelength-division multiplexing transponders carrying wavelength services. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Windstream Wholesale, with partners Coherent Corp. and Nokia, completed full integration of the 400 Gig, 0 dBm QSFP-DD Pluggable into the generally available Nokia 7250 IXR X1 and 7250 IXR-X3 routers. The integrated solution is now ready for full commercial deployment, accelerating Windstream’s ICON and ICON-Edge network strategy.