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OptoFidelity

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OptoFidelity
Information
Type Private
Industry Testing and Measurement
Founded 2005
Founder Pertti Aimonen, Kimmo Jokinen, Tapio Koskinen
Headquarters Visiokatu 1, 33720 Tampere, Finland
Notable Personnel Hans Kuosmanen (CEO, OptoFidelity Oy). Wei Wang (CEO, OptoFidelity Inc.; Chair of the Board, OptoFidelity Oy). Pertti Aimonen (co-founder, CEO until 2020). Kimmo Jokinen (co-founder, CTO).
Products OptoFidelity VR Multimeter (later BUDDY), WG-IQ, WG-GAT, Production IQ, Production MTF
Parent Changyuan Group (CYG)
Website https://www.optofidelity.com/

OptoFidelity is a technology company that provides robot assisted testing and measurement systems for smart phones, tablets, laptops, automotive infotainment and industrial machinery. OptoFidelity has developed the OptoFidelity VR Multimeter, a line of virtual reality and augmented reality performance testing solutions.

The company was founded in 2005 in Tampere, Finland, by Pertti Aimonen, Tapio Koskinen and Kimmo Jokinen.[1] It began with video quality test tools for Finnish electronics companies and grew into a supplier of touch screen test robots, then moved into optical metrology for head-mounted displays and AR waveguides.[2][1] China's Changyuan Group (CYG) has owned the company since 2017.[3] In October 2025 OptoFidelity sold its mobile device test automation business to Assurant, and it now describes itself as a provider of optical metrology systems for AR glasses and other smart devices.[4][5]

Reviewed 27 September 2026. Company history, ownership, CEO changes, Assurant sale, BUDDY chronology, waveguide product claims and infobox values checked against the cited OptoFidelity, Tesi, Castrén & Snellman, CYG, Assurant, UL and Resource Recycling pages. About review dates.

History

Founding and touch testing

In a 2016 company blog post, co-founder and then-CEO Pertti Aimonen described the first phase of the business as building video quality test tools for Finnish high-tech companies, in particular for Nokia handheld devices. The three founders started the company near Tampere University of Technology. Proprietary test products for touch-enabled devices followed, and with them expansion to the United States and Asia.[2] The company lists the EMC 100 in 2006 as its first product.[1]

A US subsidiary was set up in Silicon Valley at the beginning of 2015. At that point OptoFidelity had nearly 50 employees, and its revenue had grown from 3.6 million euros in 2013 to 5.6 million euros in 2014.[6] In April 2017 the company moved to new premises in the Hervanta district of Tampere; it said it then had more than 100 employees on three continents.[7]

Changyuan acquisition

In August 2017 Changyuan Group Ltd, a Shenzhen-based company set up by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1986, bought all the shares in OptoFidelity Oy.[3][8] Earlier investors in the company included Tesi and Vision+. According to Tesi, OptoFidelity had revenue of 20 million euros in 2016, 95 percent of it from exports, and its customers included Google, China Mobile and Atmel.[8] Mooreland Partners acted as exclusive financial adviser to OptoFidelity on the sale.[9] CYG lists OptoFidelity as a member company of its Intelligent Equipment division.[10]

In January 2018 OptoFidelity opened a manufacturing and assembly facility in the Guang Ming Hi-Tech Park in Shenzhen, its first factory in China. By the end of 2017 the company had delivered more than 3,000 test robots to manufacturers in China.[11] In May 2018 OptoFidelity announced that the industry association Photonics Finland had named it Photonics Company of the Year. In announcing the award, the company pointed to the VR Multimeter as a product used by AR and VR hardware developers.[12]

Shift toward AR and VR metrology

In September 2020 Lasse Lepistö was appointed CEO in place of Aimonen, who stayed on the board of directors to work on company strategy. The company's announcement noted that Lepistö, then 13 years at OptoFidelity, had led the development of its VR/AR business.[13] In February 2022 OptoFidelity joined the LaSAR Alliance, an industry group for AR wearable devices whose founding board members included STMicroelectronics, OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, Quanta Computer and Dispelix. The alliance was later renamed the AR Alliance.[14] The WG-IQ and WG-GAT waveguide test systems were launched the same year.[1]

In June 2025 Lepistö stepped down. Hans Kuosmanen, previously Chief Production Officer, became CEO of OptoFidelity Oy in Finland, and Wei Wang, an engineering executive who had worked at Apple and who also chairs the Finnish company's board, became CEO of OptoFidelity Inc. in the United States. The company said the new management would help customers move from small-scale to mass production of AR smart glasses.[5]

On 9 October 2025 OptoFidelity completed the sale of its Circular Economy business, its mobile device test automation portfolio, to the device protection company Assurant.[4][15] Assurant said it would use the technology in its device processing, repair and refurbishment operations, and that OptoFidelity had delivered more than 9,000 test systems since 2005.[16] OptoFidelity said the sale let it concentrate on optical testing and measurement.[4] Its website lists offices in Tampere, Cupertino, Redmond and Zhuhai, and more than 370 employees.[1][17]

OptoFidelity VR Multimeter

OptoFidelity VR Multimeter allows users to objectively and repeatedly analyze VR performance (motion-to-photon, pixel persistence, refresh rate and other important factors). Users can even measure audio to video synchronization and so called motion-to-audio-latency for spatial audio.[18]

OptoFidelity VR Multimeter provides futureproof results based on characterized measurement technology. With its novel synchronization technology, consistent measurements are possible from both present and future display technologies. OptoFidelity continuously build support for new technologies, like OLED, projector-based, holographic and light field displays.[18]

In February 2017 OptoFidelity and Futuremark announced a joint VR latency test platform that paired Futuremark's VRMark benchmark software with the VR Multimeter HMD hardware. They showed it at Mobile World Congress and the Game Developers Conference that year. The metrics listed for the platform were motion-to-photon latency, pixel persistence, frame jitter, dropped frames, audio and video synchronization, and motion-to-audio latency.[19]

BUDDY

The VR Multimeter grew into the product line now sold as BUDDY. According to a 2023 company history, OptoFidelity built its first motion-to-photon latency tester, for mobile phones, in 2016. After requests for a tester for VR headsets, the VR Multimeter was upgraded in 2017 with a human-like head mounted on its single rotational stage. In 2018 a gimbal added all three rotational axes (yaw, pitch and roll), and the tester became BUDDY. It could then detect refresh rate and pixel persistence and measure stationary jitter, drifting, tracking repeatability and motion-to-photon latency in all three rotational axes. In 2022 BUDDY gained three linear axes, for six degrees of freedom in total, along with measurement of see-through latency and hand-controller motion tracking.[20][21]

In a BUDDY system a robot moves the headset while a camera images the display content, and a 100 kHz backlight sensor timestamps the measurement content. The system comes with either three or six degrees of freedom and is used both in research and development and on manufacturing lines for statistical quality control.[22] In January 2020 OptoFidelity published a tracking comparison of the Sony PlayStation VR, HTC Vive, Oculus Quest and Valve Index, measured with the three-axis BUDDY-3.[23] At AWE USA 2023 the company announced an agreement to supply a BUDDY test system to the AR glasses maker Xreal for headset development and production.[24]

AR waveguide testing

OptoFidelity's newer AR products measure waveguide display components rather than finished headsets. WG-IQ is an automated image quality tester for research and development that uses an optical replica of the human eye and accepts diced samples and wafers up to 300 mm.[25] WG-GAT is a Littrow diffractometer that measures the pitch and orientation of waveguide diffraction gratings. In June 2023 the company said Finland's national metrology institute, VTT MIKES, had validated WG-GAT's accuracy, and it gave that accuracy as plus or minus 50 pm for grating period and plus or minus 50 arcseconds for relative grating orientation.[26]

Production IQ, announced at Display Week in San Jose in May 2024, brings WG-IQ's image quality measurements to high-volume waveguide manufacturing. It checks uniformity, efficiency, contrast, luminance and color, and uses the same measurement parameters as WG-IQ so that pass and fail limits stay consistent from development to production. The company said first units would ship in 2024, with general availability expected in the first quarter of 2025.[27] OptoFidelity says it works with Google, Samsung, Magic Leap, Lenovo and Xreal.[27][28]

Products

Product Introduced Purpose
OptoFidelity VR Multimeter / BUDDY Phone latency tester 2016; VR headset version 2017; BUDDY 2018; six-axis version 2022 Tracking and latency testing of AR, VR and MR headsets and glasses[20]
WG-IQ 2022 Automated AR waveguide image quality testing for research and development[1][25]
WG-GAT 2022 Littrow diffractometer for AR waveguide grating pitch and orientation[1][26]
Production IQ Announced May 2024 Waveguide image quality testing for volume manufacturing[27]
Production MTF High-resolution automated waveguide image quality measurement[28]

OptoFidelity also sells touch and human-machine interface test systems and custom system integration.[28]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "About OptoFidelity". OptoFidelity. https://www.optofidelity.com/company/about-us. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Pertti Aimonen (2016-04-24). "Welcome to OptoFidelity 4.0". OptoFidelity. https://www.optofidelity.com/insights/blogs/welcome-to-optofidelity-4.0. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "OptoFidelity". Castrén & Snellman. 2017-09-05. https://www.castren.fi/cases/optofidelity-sale-of-optofidelity-to-changyuan-group/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "OptoFidelity Strengthens Strategic Focus Through Sale of Circular Economy Business to Assurant". OptoFidelity. 2025-10-09. https://www.optofidelity.com/insights/news/optofidelity-sells-circular-economy-business-to-assurant. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "OptoFidelity Group Appoints New CEOs in Finland and the US to Drive Global Growth and Operational Excellence". OptoFidelity. 2025-06-25. https://www.optofidelity.com/insights/news/optofidelity-group-appoints-new-ceos-in-finland-and-the-us. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  6. ↑ "Finnish expertise on touch screen testing and machine vision enters Silicon Valley - OptoFidelity Ltd makes a major breakthrough and investments". OptoFidelity. 2015-06-02. https://www.optofidelity.com/insights/news/finnish-expertise-on-touch-screen-testing-and-machine-vision-enters-silicon-valley. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  7. ↑ "OptoFidelity will move to a new office April 3rd 2017". OptoFidelity. 2017-04-03. https://www.optofidelity.com/insights/news/optofidelity-move-to-a-new-facility. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "New ownership strengthens OptoFidelity's resources and production capacity". Tesi. 2017-08-31. https://tesi.fi/en/news-item/new-ownership-strengthens-optofidelity-s-resources-and-production-capacity/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  9. ↑ "Mooreland advises CYG on OptoFidelity acquisition". Private Equity Wire. 2017-09-06. https://www.privateequitywire.co.uk/mooreland-advises-cyg-optofidelity-acquisition/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  10. ↑ "CYG Impression". CYG. https://www.cyg.com/en/impression.html. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  11. ↑ "OptoFidelity opened manufacturing and assembly facility in Shenzhen, China". OptoFidelity. 2018-01-18. https://www.optofidelity.com/insights/news/optofidelity-opened-manufacturing-facility-shenzhen-china. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  12. ↑ ""Photonics company of the year" awarded to OptoFidelity by Photonics Finland". OptoFidelity. 2018-05-31. https://www.optofidelity.com/insights/news/our-photonics-competence-recognized-optofidelity-awarded-as-photonics-company-of-the-year-by-photonics-finland. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  13. ↑ "Lasse Lepistö appointed as the CEO of OptoFidelity - company aims to continue on a strong growth path". OptoFidelity. 2020-09-01. https://www.optofidelity.com/insights/news/press-release-lasse-lepist%C3%B6-appointed-as-the-ceo-of-optofidelity-company-aims-to-continue-on-a-strong-growth-path. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  14. ↑ "Optofidelity Joins LaSAR Alliance for AR Wearable Devices". OptoFidelity. 2022-02-18. https://www.optofidelity.com/insights/news/optofidelity-joins-lasar-alliance-augmented-reality-wearable-devices. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  15. ↑ "Assurant Expands Automation Capabilities Through Strategic Acquisition of OptoFidelity's Mobile Device Testing Solutions". Assurant. 2025-10-09. https://www.assurant.com/news-insights/news_releases/assurant-expands-automation-capabilities-acquires-optofidelity. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  16. ↑ Scott Snowden (2025-10-16). "Assurant acquires OptoFidelity to speed repair and reuse work". Resource Recycling. https://resource-recycling.com/e-scrap/2025/10/16/assurant-acquires-optofidelity-to-speed-repair-and-reuse-work/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  17. ↑ "Get in Touch with OptoFidelity". OptoFidelity. https://www.optofidelity.com/en/contact-us. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 http://www.optofidelity.com/test-solutions/rd-testing/virtual-reality-performance-testing/
  19. ↑ "Futuremark and OptoFidelity partner to create VR latency test". UL Benchmarks. 2017-02-22. https://benchmarks.ul.com/news/futuremark-and-optofidelity-partner-to-create-vr-latency-test. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Juha Lehtioksa (2023-02-15). "BUDDY - The Forerunner of Temporal Characteristics Measurement for AR/VR Headsets". OptoFidelity. https://www.optofidelity.com/insights/blogs/buddy-the-forerunner-of-temporal-characteristics-measurement-robots. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  21. ↑ Nikhil Pachhandara (2022-12-02). "Meet BUDDY, the All-New AR/VR Head-Mounted Display Testing Device with 6DOF". OptoFidelity. https://www.optofidelity.com/insights/blogs/meet-buddy-the-all-new-ar/vr-head-mounted-display-testing-device-with-6dof. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  22. ↑ "Automate AR/VR HMD testing with OptoFidelity BUDDY". OptoFidelity. https://www.optofidelity.com/en/products/buddy. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  23. ↑ Pekka Laiho, Tommi Nikula (2020-01-20). "Comparing VR headsets' tracking performance". OptoFidelity. https://www.optofidelity.com/insights/blogs/comparing-vr-headsets-tracking-performance. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  24. ↑ "OptoFidelity's BUDDY Test System to Improve Xreal's AR glass development". OptoFidelity. 2023-06-01. https://www.optofidelity.com/insights/news/buddy-test-system-to-xreal-ar-glasses. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 "Automate AR waveguide image quality with OptoFidelity WG-IQ Tester". OptoFidelity. https://www.optofidelity.com/en/products/wg-iq. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 "OptoFidelity's AR Testing is Now Traceable to VTT MIKES Proving up to 50 Times More Accurate than Conventional Methods". OptoFidelity. 2023-06-27. https://www.optofidelity.com/insights/news/ar-testing-traceaability. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 "OptoFidelity Launches Production IQ Image Quality Test System to Accelerate Volume Manufacturing of XR Waveguides". OptoFidelity. 2024-05-14. https://www.optofidelity.com/insights/news/optofidelity-launches-productioniq-image-quality-test-system. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 "Precise Testing Systems for AR/VR glasses and waveguides". OptoFidelity. https://www.optofidelity.com/en/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
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