What if your next smartwatch, smart glasses, or bodycam had the same ability as the human eye? Cue poLight’s revolutionary tunable optics for compact cameras

From Fibre to Focus: A Curious Beginning

It all started not with cameras, but with fibre optics. poLight’s early journey involved manipulating light through a transparent polymer gel, originally developed in Russia and brought to Norway for telecom infrastructure. But things took a wild and wonderful turn when researchers saw more than just data transport potential—they saw the foundation for artificial vision.

One lightbulb moment later, the same polymer was tapped to emulate the most advanced imaging system evolution ever designed: the human eye.

Mimicking the Eye: Minus the Muscles

Here’s where it gets clever. The human eye adjusts focus by reshaping its lens using tiny muscles—smooth, continuous, almost imperceptible. poLight asked: what if you could do that electronically?

Their answer: a unique piezoelectric thin-film membrane paired with a tunable polymer lens. By applying voltage, the membrane flexes—just like those eye muscles—altering the shape of the lens in real time. The result? Instant, silent, power-efficient focus changes with no mechanical movement at all.

Say Goodbye to Lens Stacks

Conventional autofocus systems rely on bulky, power-hungry mechanical assemblies that physically shift lenses back and forth. Fine in a DSLR, but in a smartwatch or wireless earbud? Forget it.

poLight’s tunable optics eliminate the need for moving parts entirely. Their MEMS-based solution bends light by reshaping the lens itself, not by shifting components around. This makes the tech a perfect fit for wearables, AR/VR glasses, IoT devices, and ultra-compact industrial cameras—where space, reliability, and energy efficiency are non-negotiable.

Applications That Move—and Keep Working

The environments where poLight’s lenses shine aren’t clean-room labs. Think rugged, on-the-go applications: fitness trackers, medical wearables, inspection drones, and smart pens. These devices move constantly, face harsh conditions, and demand years of maintenance-free operation. A tiny mechanical lens system would wear out—or suck the battery dry.

With poLight’s polymer lens and piezoelectric actuator, you get something better: durable, lightning-fast focusing that just works, again and again, with minimal power draw.

Why Engineers Should Take a Closer Look

For engineers designing imaging systems where every cubic millimetre counts, poLight’s approach offers a real paradigm shift. You don’t need to sacrifice optical performance for compactness. You don’t need to tolerate motor noise or wait for a lens to snap into focus. Instead, you get a solid-state solution that adapts instantly—just like your eyes.

And the best part? It’s not science fiction. It’s already here, ready to be embedded in the next wave of miniaturised imaging products.