In the fast-moving world of micro-optics and automotive lighting, innovation doesn’t stop with fabrication – it also depends on accurate modelling and reliable photometry. Microrelleus, a specialist in advanced laser microstructuring and industrial engraving, knows this challenge well. With deep expertise in femtosecond and nanosecond laser technologies, the company supports a wide range of industries, and particularly the automotive lighting sector, where precision and performance must go hand in hand.

G² Industrial Engineering, an Austrian leader in advanced vehicle systems and automotive lighting, set out to reimagine one of the most established components in vehicle safety: the retroreflector. Their ambition was clear – use micro-optics to create a new generation of compact, highly efficient retroreflectors capable of returning light precisely to its source, even at small angles of incidence.

Free-form micro-optics (FFMOs) offer high design freedom and significant potential to reduce installation space and weight while enabling more energy-efficient optical systems. FORVIA HELLA, one of the larger automotive suppliers worldwide, worked with PHABULOuS to test several optical designs toward developing the next generation headlamps based on free-form micro-optics. The latest demonstrator highlights impressive improvements towards a highly compact and thin FFMO-based solution for low beam applications.