Industry Event
Vision Tech: Seawater-Optimized Lens Systems for Robotics, Aquaculture, and Machine Vision.
21 January 2026 • 4:00 PM - 4:30 PM PST | West Expo Stage 2 (Moscone West, Exhibit Level)
Underwater imaging often relies on adapting terrestrial camera lenses for subsea use through flat or domed optical ports. While convenient and cost-effective, these configurations introduce optical compromises due to refractive index mismatches at the air-glass-water interface and lens designs optimized for in-air use. This paper presents a comparative performance analysis of several underwater port configurations, including flat ports, hemispherical domes, Ivanoff-Rebikoff correctors, and a multi-element custom "wet" port, alongside a fully customized underwater lens system explicitly designed for direct operation in seawater.
Optical metrics, including modulation transfer function (MTF), lateral chromatic aberration, field of view (FOV), and image simulation fidelity, are evaluated. Results show that terrestrial lenses with port adaptors suffer significant degradation in image quality, while Ivanoff-Rebikoff correctors recover resolution but leave residual chromatic and geometric distortions. The Optopax custom port further improves performance, while the fully customized underwater lens surpasses all configurations, delivering superior MTF, complete chromatic correction, and field preservation, along with form factor flexibility for integration into space-constrained platforms.
Simulated Siemens star charts and real-world scenes demonstrate significantly enhanced edge definition, spatial detail, and color accuracy with both the custom port and the bespoke wet lens. By eliminating the optical discontinuities at air-glass interfaces and leveraging seawater as an active optical medium, the fully customized design represents a new design strategy in subsea optics, enabling high-fidelity imaging for underwater robotics, aquaculture monitoring, and AI-enhanced marine vision applications.
John Kuta is Vice President of Business Development at Optopax, leading global sales strategy and customer engagement for advanced optical and imaging systems. He brings more than 25 years of experience spanning optical engineering, product development, and executive leadership across life sciences, photonics, and industrial markets.
Dr. Kuta began his career as an electro-optic scientist developing biomedical instrumentation before advancing to leadership roles in optical and mechanical design. At EFOS and EXFO, he served as Vice President of Development and Director of R&D, managing multidisciplinary teams in new product development and research. He later held senior marketing and corporate development roles at Lumen Dynamics, driving M&A and new market entry. As President and CEO of BDT Print Media North America, he established the subsidiary and expanded sales in the print and packaging sector. He also founded a consulting practice supporting technology firms in sales, marketing, and strategy execution.
Dr. Kuta holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Physics from the University of Toronto, where his research focused on ultrafast laser–semiconductor interactions. He also earned a B.Sc. in Physics from Acadia University and a Master’s Certificate in Marketing Leadership from York University.
Vooi Leng Tan is Lead Optical Designer at Optopax, where he specializes in subsea and machine-vision optics. He led the development of a seawater-immersed “wet” lens system that eliminates transitional interfaces and enables superior underwater imaging performance. His early work designing subsea macro lenses—widely adopted by scuba photographers—set a new benchmark for capturing small marine life in remarkable detail. He also innovated cost-effective subsea lighting solutions that provide focused illumination, enabling underwater macro photography to achieve higher clarity and fidelity.
Mr. Tan holds a Master’s degree in Applied Physics from the University of Malaya and is inventor on several patents in underwater optics and wearable displays. At Optopax, he manages a wide portfolio of projects including biosensors, custom imaging lenses, optical coherence tomography (OCT) components, optical interconnects, long-wave infrared (LWIR) imaging systems, and advanced collimating optics. He additionally directs the company’s physical optics simulation and optimization initiatives, leveraging tools such as Zemax, OpticStudio and Quadoa for system design. Mr. Tan applies MATLAB and Python to automate engineering workflows and has authored a Python-based optimization algorithm that improves optical layouts and provides practical design enhancements. His contributions continue to advance Optopax’s capabilities in both industrial and scientific imaging.
MENU: Coffee, decaf, and tea will be available nearby.
SETUP: Theater seating.
Optical metrics, including modulation transfer function (MTF), lateral chromatic aberration, field of view (FOV), and image simulation fidelity, are evaluated. Results show that terrestrial lenses with port adaptors suffer significant degradation in image quality, while Ivanoff-Rebikoff correctors recover resolution but leave residual chromatic and geometric distortions. The Optopax custom port further improves performance, while the fully customized underwater lens surpasses all configurations, delivering superior MTF, complete chromatic correction, and field preservation, along with form factor flexibility for integration into space-constrained platforms.
Simulated Siemens star charts and real-world scenes demonstrate significantly enhanced edge definition, spatial detail, and color accuracy with both the custom port and the bespoke wet lens. By eliminating the optical discontinuities at air-glass interfaces and leveraging seawater as an active optical medium, the fully customized design represents a new design strategy in subsea optics, enabling high-fidelity imaging for underwater robotics, aquaculture monitoring, and AI-enhanced marine vision applications.
Speakers
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John Kuta is Vice President of Business Development at Optopax, leading global sales strategy and customer engagement for advanced optical and imaging systems. He brings more than 25 years of experience spanning optical engineering, product development, and executive leadership across life sciences, photonics, and industrial markets.
Dr. Kuta began his career as an electro-optic scientist developing biomedical instrumentation before advancing to leadership roles in optical and mechanical design. At EFOS and EXFO, he served as Vice President of Development and Director of R&D, managing multidisciplinary teams in new product development and research. He later held senior marketing and corporate development roles at Lumen Dynamics, driving M&A and new market entry. As President and CEO of BDT Print Media North America, he established the subsidiary and expanded sales in the print and packaging sector. He also founded a consulting practice supporting technology firms in sales, marketing, and strategy execution.
Dr. Kuta holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Physics from the University of Toronto, where his research focused on ultrafast laser–semiconductor interactions. He also earned a B.Sc. in Physics from Acadia University and a Master’s Certificate in Marketing Leadership from York University.
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Vooi Leng Tan is Lead Optical Designer at Optopax, where he specializes in subsea and machine-vision optics. He led the development of a seawater-immersed “wet” lens system that eliminates transitional interfaces and enables superior underwater imaging performance. His early work designing subsea macro lenses—widely adopted by scuba photographers—set a new benchmark for capturing small marine life in remarkable detail. He also innovated cost-effective subsea lighting solutions that provide focused illumination, enabling underwater macro photography to achieve higher clarity and fidelity.
Mr. Tan holds a Master’s degree in Applied Physics from the University of Malaya and is inventor on several patents in underwater optics and wearable displays. At Optopax, he manages a wide portfolio of projects including biosensors, custom imaging lenses, optical coherence tomography (OCT) components, optical interconnects, long-wave infrared (LWIR) imaging systems, and advanced collimating optics. He additionally directs the company’s physical optics simulation and optimization initiatives, leveraging tools such as Zemax, OpticStudio and Quadoa for system design. Mr. Tan applies MATLAB and Python to automate engineering workflows and has authored a Python-based optimization algorithm that improves optical layouts and provides practical design enhancements. His contributions continue to advance Optopax’s capabilities in both industrial and scientific imaging.
Event Details
FORMAT: Oral presentation followed by audience Q&A.MENU: Coffee, decaf, and tea will be available nearby.
SETUP: Theater seating.