As the optics industry gears up for Photonics West 2026, there’s a familiar sense of energy in the air. It’s more than just another trade show; it’s a reunion, a brainstorming session, and often the starting point for the next generation of optical innovation.
Ahead of this year’s event, we sat down with Janice Hunter of Precision Optics Corporation (POC) and Carlos Penalbert of Ross Optical to talk about what Photonics West means to them, what they’re seeing from customers, and how precision optics continues to evolve in a world demanding smaller, smarter, and higher-performing systems.
Many Roles, One Shared Goal: Supporting Customers End-to-End
At POC, no two days look the same, and that’s exactly how Janice Hunter likes it. Her role spans customer interaction across supply chain, engineering, development, and manufacturing. From early concepts to full production, POC works closely with customers at every stage, helping turn ideas into manufacturable, high-precision optical systems.
That breadth mirrors the optics industry itself. Photonics West brings together students, seasoned engineers, business leaders, and industry veterans, some with decades of experience, creating a uniquely diverse and collaborative environment.
Carlos Penalbert’s day-to-day at Ross Optical overlaps naturally with POC’s work. Ross focuses heavily on optical components and thin-film coatings, while POC brings deeper expertise in mechanical and system-level engineering. Together, the teams support customers as designs evolve, whether that means sourcing catalog components, refining coatings, or transitioning into complex custom assemblies.
Why Photonics West Still Matters
For both Janice and Carlos, Photonics West is about more than booths and badges; it’s about relationships.
After years of emails and virtual meetings, the chance to sit down face-to-face matters. These conversations often go well beyond business, covering families, hobbies, and shared history in a surprisingly tight-knit industry. That personal connection builds trust, and trust makes collaboration easier and more effective.
The show also serves as a bridge for newcomers. Many attendees arrive with a concept but no clear path forward. Sometimes the right answer is custom development; other times, it’s pointing them toward an off-the-shelf solution from a trusted supplier. Helping people find the right solution, even if it’s not your own, is part of what makes the optics community work.
A More Confident Outlook for 2026
Compared to last year, both Janice and Carlos sense a shift in mindset. While economic uncertainty slowed decisions and stretched timelines in the past, customers now seem more settled. Forecasts are clearer, planning horizons are longer, and conversations feel more decisive.
From POC’s perspective, many existing products are now ready for their next evolution. Discussions are shifting toward second- and third-generation designs, along with renewed interest in previously paused projects. The result? A very full calendar and a “hands-on-deck” year ahead.
Smaller, Better, More Precise
One theme continues to dominate customer conversations: miniaturization without compromise.
Across medical, aerospace, industrial, and emerging AI-driven applications, customers want systems that are smaller, more compact, and higher performing. For POC, this is familiar territory. Designing and assembling multi-element optical systems within millimeter-scale housings requires extreme precision, careful development, and deep experience, areas where POC has long specialized.
From Carlos’s perspective, coatings play a critical role in achieving those performance gains. Customers are increasingly demanding advanced thin-film specifications, often pushing the limits of what’s feasible. These discussions frequently turn into collaborative problem-solving sessions, sometimes right on the show floor, where designs are refined and practical solutions emerge.
As Janice notes, even the best lens design depends on the coating to truly function as intended. In many systems, coatings are the difference between “works on paper” and “works in the real world.”
Unity: A New Starting Point for Innovation
This year’s Photonics West will also mark an important milestone for POC: the continued rollout of Unity, POC’s out-of-the-box optical platform.
Unity gives customers a proven foundation they can build on, reducing development time, cost, and risk. Instead of starting from scratch, customers can begin with a validated, modular system and evolve it with support from POC’s engineering team. It’s a faster, more efficient path from concept to deployment, particularly for single-use medical devices and advanced endoscopy.
What Everyone Looks Forward To
When asked what they’re most excited about at Photonics West, the answer was simple: the people. Reconnecting with colleagues, partners, and customers is a reminder of how collaborative this industry really is. The days are long, and the pace is intense, but the conversations make it worthwhile.
Visit Us at Booth 1462
Are you looking to take your next optical project from concept to production? Our expert team will be on-site at Booth 1462 to provide the technical guidance and manufacturing solutions you need to succeed in the 2026 optics market. Stop by to see the Unity platform in action and discuss how we can help get your project “unstuck.”
For more in-depth insights into the trends driving the optics industry this year, listen to our latest episode of the Focus on Precision podcast. Join Janice and Carlos as they go deeper into the technical challenges, market shifts, and more.