Huawei has opened an optical lab in partnership with Leica Camera as it looks to build better image sensors for its smartphones.
The lab, which builds upon a partnership between the two companies that was signed last year, will be located at Leica’s global headquarters in Wetzlar, Germany.
The Max Berek Innovation Lab will focus on developing optical systems and software-based technology to improve imaging in both smartphones and cameras.
Huawei and Leica said they also want to explore how computational imaging, augmented and virtual reality can be created.
They will work with German and international universities and research centres in the lab, which builds on recent work carried out between the two companies.
Leica’s lens and imaging technology used in Huawei’s latest smartphones, the P9 and the P9 Plus.
Ren Zhengfei, CEO of Huawei, said: “In the future, over 90 percent of data traffic will be images and videos. The Max Berek Innovation Lab provides the capacity to establish an even closer partnership with Leica, leading to continuous improvements in image and video quality. As a result, we will deliver the most advanced innovations in the smartphone camera market and bring greater value to consumers.”
Markus Limberger, Chief Operating Officer of Leica Camera AG and Director of the Max Berek Innovation Lab, added: “The Max Berek Innovation Lab offers us a historic opportunity to unite the resources and extensive expertise of both companies to pioneer game-changing technologies.”
The centre has been named after the German pioneer in microscopy and the main behind the first Leica lenses, which were placed in the original 35mm cameras.