The technology thinktank Big Blue Ceiling has completed a new ISO Class 5 “Class 100” optical cleanroom that will provide a controlled research environment to support computational optics, sensor characterisation and precision imaging workflows.
The cleanroom is designed for sub-micron particulate control, positive pressure isolation, and tight temperature and humidity stability.
These are conditions that standard laboratory environments cannot reliably provide.
“Our work increasingly depends on generating controlled, measurement-grade data, something traditional lab spaces aren’t built for,” said Eddie Offermann, founder and CTO of Big Blue Ceiling.
Offermann describes the cleanroom as “the foundation for a decade of planned research into advanced imaging and sensing.”
Features of the cleanroom
The cleanroom features a modular optical bench, capable of hosting interchangeable test assemblies, computational-imaging rigs, and custom sensor fixtures.
The space is equipped with broadband and narrowband light sources, precision monochromators, long-pass filters, optical fibres, calibrated illumination geometries and reference reflectance standards.
The features of the cleanroom enable rigorous, repeatable measurements of sensor response, optical throughput, lens and filter behaviour, and spectral signatures across visible and near-infrared wavelengths.
The facility is already being used for early-stage experiments that involve multi-band illumination, controlled optical-path measurements, and novel computational calibration methods.
These workflows form part of a broader long-term initiative by Big Blue Ceiling to explore unconventional imaging architectures that merge optics, software and sensor physics.
Next year, the cleanroom will be expanded to include a monochromator capacity, automated optical-path alignment tools, enhanced spectral reference standards and integrated workflows for end-to-end sensor testing.
What is in store for the future?
The cleanroom bridges Big Blue Ceiling’s strengths in GPU-accelerated AI, XR prototyping and spatial computing with physical measurement and calibration capabilities.
The XR hardware prototyping to machine-learning driven processing pipelines will support engineering efforts for controlled optical data and the ability to treat imaging systems as measurable instruments.
Big Blue Ceiling is also looking into establishing limited collaborations with external partners working on precise imaging and measurement technologies.