In an industry saturated with buzzwords and incremental upgrades, Singular Photonics delivered something refreshingly radical at the EMVA Business Conference in Rome: a fourth dimension. That’s right—this Edinburgh-based deep-tech startup is quite literally putting time into the vision equation.
With a bold tagline, “Imaging Time: The Fourth Dimension,” Singular Photonics introduced its cutting-edge SPAD* (Single-Photon Avalanche Diode) sensor technology to a room full of machine vision insiders—and left the impression that the future of imaging might not be about megapixels, but about when those photons arrive.
20 Years in the Making
The company may be newly incorporated (February 2024), but its roots run deep. Singular Photonics emerged from over two decades of research at the University of Edinburgh’s globally respected CMOS Sensors and Systems Group. Now backed by private equity and armed with three generations of patented sensors, the team is moving fast to commercialize a horizontal platform capable of disrupting multiple vertical markets—from industrial automation to autonomous navigation.
“We’re talking about a leap forward in what cameras can detect,” explained CTO and co-founder Aravind Venugopalan. “It’s not just about where something is, but exactly when it happens.”
Inside the Technology: Stacked, Smart, and Single-Photon Sensitive
Singular’s sensors are built around 3D-stacked SPAD arrays—a sophisticated sensor architecture that allows for ultra-fast, ultra-sensitive photon detection. The chip comprises multiple layers:
- Microlens layer: Boosts photon collection efficiency
- SPAD array layer: Detects individual photons with extreme precision
- On-chip digital processing: Reduces latency and power consumption by handling tasks directly on the silicon
This design not only allows the system to operate at high frame rates and with excellent signal-to-noise performance—it also enables on-the-fly mode switching, providing flexibility across a wide range of environments and applications.
Features That Stand Out
The specs read like a wish list for next-gen machine vision systems:
- High Frame Rate
- Global or Rolling Shutter
- High Dynamic Range
- Depth Sensing via dToF (direct Time-of-Flight)
- Time-Resolved Imaging
- Noiseless Low-Light Performance
In simpler terms: the sensors are fast, flexible, and sensitive enough to see what most cameras miss—including depth, movement in near-total darkness, and chemical signatures based on light return time.
Applications Across Industries
Singular’s technology is designed to scale across an impressive array of use cases:
- 3D Vision & Surface Profiling for robotics and automation
- Low Light / Night Vision for surveillance and defense
- dToF LiDAR & Navigation for autonomous vehicles
- Object Counting & Visual Inspection in industrial settings
- Substance Analysis using time-resolved light responses
- Environmental Perception for smart cities and AR systems
This breadth points to a core strength of Singular’s technology: it’s not application-specific—it’s platform-grade. Their sensors are designed to fit across markets wherever precision vision is needed.
Rethinking Vision for a 4D World
If one takeaway defined Singular Photonics’ pitch in Rome, it was this: time is now a measurable, meaningful dimension in imaging. By combining photon-level detection with digital processing and advanced optics, the company is reframing what’s possible in machine vision.
It’s early days—the company is still private and relatively under the radar—but based on what was shown at EMVA, Singular Photonics may soon be very visible. Especially to the industries looking for sensing systems that can operate in darkness, detect depth in milliseconds, and understand light in ways cameras never could.
Learn More
SPAD imaging refers to imaging technology that uses Single-Photon Avalanche Diodes (SPADs)—specialized semiconductor devices capable of detecting individual photons with extremely high timing precision.
*What Is a SPAD?
A SPAD (Single-Photon Avalanche Diode) is a type of photodetector that can register the arrival of a single photon. When a photon hits the SPAD, it triggers an avalanche of electrons, resulting in a measurable electrical pulse.
This allows SPADs to:
- Detect extremely low levels of light (down to single photons)
- Measure time-of-arrival with picosecond resolution (i.e., when the photon arrived)
SPAD Imaging Systems
In a SPAD imaging array, thousands (or millions) of SPADs are arranged like pixels on a sensor chip. These systems can do things traditional cameras can’t:
Key Capabilities:
- Ultra-low-light imaging (even in near-total darkness)
- Time-of-Flight (ToF) depth sensing – by measuring the time light takes to bounce back
- Time-resolved fluorescence or Raman imaging – for biological or material analysis
- 3D vision & LiDAR – for robotics, autonomous vehicles, AR/VR
Some SPAD cameras also incorporate 3D stacking, on-chip processing, and multi-event detection, making them highly versatile and compact for embedded systems.
Where Is SPAD Imaging Used?
SPADs are at the heart of imaging systems in:
- Autonomous vehicles (LiDAR)
- Biophotonics and medical diagnostics
- Quantum imaging and communications
- Augmented reality depth cameras
- Industrial automation and scientific research
Why It Matters
SPAD imaging is revolutionizing vision sensing by bringing timing, depth, and sensitivity together in compact, efficient chips. It’s enabling the rise of 4D imaging—where cameras don’t just capture images, but understand when and how far things are, even in low light.
📧 Contact CTO Aravind Venugopalan at:
📨 a.venugopalan@singularphotonics.com
Stay tuned to EMVA and industry news channels for updates on this rising 4D imaging innovator, and for further coverage from the EMVA Conference, click HERE
