Designing an optical system is a complex process, needing seamless collaboration among engineers, designers, and researchers across various industries and applications.
Prototyping, in particular, can be a lengthy process due to challenges including procuring the physical components, such as lenses or sensors. This can take weeks or even months, particularly if custom fabrication is required. Then, there’s the component assembly, which needs extreme precision to ensure proper alignment and functionality. This, in-turn, requires skilled labor and specialist tools.
Prototyping can require multiple iterative design cycles. Designers frequently explore alternative setups and test various configurations, each iteration requiring extra time and resources. Rigorous testing is another factor, as these prototypes must meet strict performance and reliability standards, often undergoing environmental simulations for extreme conditions.
Collaboration across disciplines like optics, electronics, software, and mechanics adds further complexity, with different tools and methods used by different teams. This can slow the progress, as integrating their work into a cohesive prototype often involves inefficiencies. High costs, limited resources, and shared facilities can also hinder the pace of prototyping.
Traditional methods can often exacerbate delays, relying on fragmented processes and limited simulation tools. More streamlined approaches, such as integrated modelling software, are required to reduce reliance on trial-and-error with physical prototypes, saving time and fostering more efficient workflows for OEMs and anyone in their supply chain.
Addressing the needs of imaging system designers
Fortunately, help is at hand for optical system engineers, thanks to the ImSym – Imaging System Simulator platform from the Optical Solutions Group at Synopsys, which was designed to overhaul imaging system modelling and prototyping. ImSym is a virtual prototyping platform designed for comprehensive imaging system simulation. It integrates all components of the imaging chain – lens assembly, sensor and ISP chip – into a unified platform, enabling more seamless optimisation and reducing the need for physical prototypes.
Powered by the renowned CODE V® and LightTools® software, the new software product, ImSym, is designed to deliver accurate, physics-based end-to-end simulations that translate directly into production-ready designs, thereby accelerating development cycles, reducing costs, and enhancing collaboration among multidisciplinary teams by offering real-time updates, version control, and a Python interface for customisation. In fact, by shifting imaging system design to the virtual realm, ImSym can achieve up to 60 times greater efficiency than traditional methods, empowering engineers to perfect systems faster and more reliably.
“ImSym is a collaboration tool for imaging systems,” explains Blake Crowther, Senior Staff Technical Product Manager for the Optical Solutions Group at Synopsys. “One use case would be optical systems engineers who need to evaluate imaging systems from the conceptual phase to the delivery and operation of the system.”
The platform enables engineers to model designs at every stage, from conceptual to final production. Its capability to handle system-level trade-offs and answer “what-if” questions quickly is particularly impactful. “For instance,” says Crowther, “you can ask, ‘What if we use Lens A with Detector B instead of Lens B with Detector B?’ You can answer that question in a matter of minutes to hours instead of weeks. This saves tremendous time and effort, making ImSym invaluable to any organization involved in developing imaging systems.”
In addition to engineers, the platform caters to optical component suppliers and end users evaluating imaging systems, such as automotive companies assessing cameras for vehicles or AR/VR teams looking for great image quality. ImSym streamlines prototyping by reducing the need for costly, time-intensive physical iterations.
Filling the gaps in optical modelling
ImSym addresses one critical void in the optical simulation landscape. “There was a gap in commercial software for modelling complete imaging systems,” Crowther says. “Some solutions involved patching together various tools, but this is the first commercial product to integrate all these elements seamlessly into one comprehensive simulation flow.”
Crowther elaborated on how existing tools could model lenses, stray light, or electronics but lacked the capability to unify them. ImSym combines these components into a single cohesive platform, capable of modeling an imaging system from end to end.
Speed and accuracy: transforming the workflow
One of ImSym’s standout features is its speed. “What used to take days can now be done in hours, and what used to take hours can be done in minutes,” Crowther explains. By performing simulations in software rather than physically assembling prototypes, teams can drastically accelerate their schedules.
Accuracy is another pillar of the platform. “ImSym incorporates models from several engineering disciplines into a single project,” Crowther says. “For example, a lens design file can be used directly without manual data transfer, reducing errors.”
The software powering the extensive and accurate models of optical assemblies to the Imsym platform is an additional benefit to users, as Crowther explains: “CODE V and LightTools are extremely powerful, with years of updates and features that are now leveraged by ImSym via the generated models of the lens assemblies. You don’t have to be an expert in either tool to benefit from their capabilities, but if you are, all that power is available to you.”
End-to-end modeling for multidisciplinary teams
ImSym offers end-to-end modeling, covering the entire imaging process. “We track the photons generated by the scene, through the optics, into the detector, and finally into the image signal processing (ISP) steps,” Crowther explains.
This comprehensive approach facilitates collaboration among team members with different technical backgrounds, from system engineers to lens designers, stray light engineers, opto-mechanical engineers, and ISP developers. “The platform acts as both an engineering and organizational tool,” Crowther said. “It streamlines the workflow, allowing each discipline to contribute models that are integrated into the overall project.”
The collage shows virtual test results from ImSym of a script-driven automated car detection ISP after simulation through optics and a detector with a randomized stray light input. The virtual stray light input can result in no effect (accurate detections), false detections, or no detections, depending on the angle (Credit: Synopsys)
A platform for the future
ImSym’s capabilities extend beyond current use cases, with potential applications in aerospace, defense, automotive, AR/VR, and more. “We’re working to address the unique needs of multiple market sectors,” Crowther reveals. “For example, autonomous driving is a perfect use case. Simulating data in software is faster and cheaper than capturing it in real-world prototype environments.”
The platform’s Python integration further enhances its flexibility, and there are three ways Python is used. Firstly, for customising image processing steps. Says Crowther: “You can replace default ISP steps with custom Python routines, or even create a fully custom ISP.”
Secondly, for conducting simulations via scripts, as Crowther explains: “Everything you can do in the user interface can also be done via Python scripts, allowing for automation and repeatability.”
And then for playback and iteration, Crowther says: “ImSym records actions as a Python playback file, which you can edit and rerun to perform multiple simulations with variations.”
These features help to enable rapid iteration and exploration of design possibilities, empowering engineers to answer thousands of “what-if” questions efficiently.
A paradigm shift in optical system design and simulation
The broader impact of ImSym lies in its potential to transform the field of optical design. “We’re moving from siloed design and simulation processes to a unified system design approach,” Crowther emphasised. “In the future, relying on traditional methods will make you less competitive. Tools like ImSym will be essential for accelerating design processes and improving collaboration.”
Reflecting on the trajectory of optical engineering, Crowther likened ImSym’s potential to the introduction of ray-tracing software for lens optimisation. “That was a huge step forward for lens design. ImSym represents a similar leap for optical system design, moving us toward complete system modelling,” he says. “The era of siloed optical system design and simulation is over. We’re entering an age of unified design, and ImSym is built to lead the way.”
Find out more about ImSym – Imaging System Simulator
