As a winner of Round 3 of the “Innovative Technologies for Immersive Virtual Worlds” call for projects, ARUMO aims to design augmented reality headsets that are more compact, more immersive, and better suited to the critical needs of civil security professionals.
SOLNIL and NEXVISION announce that they have been selected as part of the third round of the “Innovative Technologies for Immersive Virtual Worlds” call for projects, supported by France 2030, with their ARUMO (Augmented Reality Using Meta Optics) project. This initiative aims to fund critical technological building blocks capable of accelerating the deployment of XR applications and strengthening France’s competitiveness in immersive technologies.
The ARUMO project aims to improve innovative augmented reality headsets designed primarily for civil security professionals by providing them with a direct field of view enriched with real-time information. The goal is to enhance their perception of the environment, facilitate decision-making in the field, and improve the ergonomics of the equipment in demanding operational contexts.
Overcoming Two Major Technological Challenges in Augmented Reality
ARUMO relies on headsets featuring Optical See-Through (OST) technology as well as miniaturized metasurface optical systems. The project aims to address two major challenges that continue to hinder the widespread adoption of this equipment.
The first challenge involves improving visual quality and immersion. To this end, the project plans to integrate a rotating metasurface optical filter designed to reduce the accommodation-vergence conflict, identified as one of the main factors contributing to discomfort in mixed reality.
The second challenge involves reducing the bulkiness of the headsets. By replacing certain conventional optical components with ultra-compact metasurfaces, ARUMO aims to design devices that are lighter, more ergonomic, and better suited for prolonged use in the field.
Regional Collaboration to Drive Disruptive Innovation
The ARUMO project is led by a regional consortium bringing together two major players from the South region:
- SOLNIL, a specialist in the manufacture of metasurfaces,
- NEXVISION, an expert in advanced embedded systems for environmental perception.
As part of the project, SOLNIL will handle the design and manufacturing of the metasurfaces. These developments are expected to help mitigate nausea caused by the accommodation-convergence conflict (VAC) and improve the compactness of relay lens arrays, thanks to the advanced optical properties of metalenses with high effective refractive indices.
For its part, NEXVISION will integrate this new technology into its eSAS-HMSD headsets, with the goal of further improving their visual performance, compactness, and user comfort. This integration builds on the company’s expertise in advanced embedded systems dedicated to environmental perception and analysis.
A project at the intersection of advanced optics and real-world applications
Beyond its technological achievements, ARUMO serves a concrete purpose: to bring more effective augmented reality solutions to market for critical professional applications. By combining optical innovation, miniaturization, and embedded integration, the project paves the way for a new generation of headsets capable of balancing image quality, user comfort, and operational robustness.
For SOLNIL and NEXVISION, this selection represents strong recognition of their ability to jointly drive disruptive innovation for the immersive technologies of tomorrow.
“With ARUMO, we are applying our expertise in metasurfaces to a high-impact application. This project illustrates the full potential of these technologies to push the boundaries of conventional optics and make immersive devices more comfortable, more compact, and more powerful” explains Badre KERZABI, CEO of SOLNIL.
“The ARUMO project marks an important milestone in the development of our eSAS-HMSD headsets. By incorporating the benefits of metasurfaces, we aim to achieve a qualitative leap forward in visual performance, ergonomics, and adaptation to the operational needs of professionals in the field” adds Vincent CARRIER, CEO of NEXVISION.
About SOLNIL
SOLNIL specializes in the design and manufacture of metasurfaces. The company develops innovative optical components that enable system miniaturization, improve visual performance, and open up new possibilities for next-generation immersive devices.
About NEXVISION
NEXVISION is an engineering firm specializing in optronic systems and embedded vision systems. The company designs advanced solutions combining computing, image processing, and image analysis for demanding environments, with recognized expertise in situational awareness and the integration of innovative technologies.
Press Contacts
SOLNIL
Badre KERZABI
contact [at] solnil.com
NEXVISION
Vincent CARRIER
06 30 36 08 28
vincent.carrier [at] nexvision.fr
