Chairs

	Wilbert IJzerman Signify (NL)
	Alois Herkommer University of Stuttgart (DE)

Synopsis

The focus of this topical meeting will be to explore and discuss new trends and developments within the fast evolving field of optical systems that have their functionality enhanced by freeform optical surfaces, adaptive optics and computational imaging. Freeform optical components -refractive as well as reflective- offer great opportunities to realize non- or low-symmetry optical systems with new functionalities, high optical performance or reduced complexity.  This implies in particular to illumination systems and to optical systems with very special requirements such as in applications to augmented reality and virtual reality.

On the other side the manufacturing, characterization, assembly and optical testing of such systems is especially for imaging systems still challenging. Imaging with freeform optical systems is therefore closely linked to adaptive and computational methods. The evaluation of imaging and metrology data by computational post-processing enables the extraction of previously inaccessible information. Adaptive illumination systems optimize the information gathered form the photons that interact with the object. In freeform, lensless and disordered imaging systems, diffraction and scattering yields patterns from which image information can be retrieved through calculations, reducing the optical complexity or even completely eliminating the lens system.

The topical meeting will address how new tools and technologies are enabling next generation optical systems based on freeform, adaptive and computational optics and their interplay.