Lumus, the pioneering developer of reflective (geometric) waveguide technology for augmented reality (AR) eyewear, featured its enhanced Z-30 optical engine at AWE 2025 in Long Beach, California. Also on display was Lumus’ high-performance Z-50 optical engine for more immersive applications.
Since its debut earlier this year, the Z-30—built on Lumus’ Z-Lens waveguide architecture and featuring a 30-degree field-of-view—has been further optimized with a series of performance and design upgrades, including a significantly smaller projector and improved power efficiency and brightness. Lumus expects Z-30 to reach a luminance efficiency of up to 7,000 nits/Watt in the coming months—setting a new benchmark for outdoor-capable AR displays.
“Z-30 is more than ready for mass-market consumer glasses,” said Ari Grobman, CEO of Lumus. “It’s compact enough to fit inside standard eyeglass frames, powerful enough to function in daylight, and efficient enough for all-day use. For AR to become a part of daily life, the hardware needs to disappear into familiar form factors while delivering extraordinary performance. With Z-30, we’re there.”
Developed for everyday use cases such as social engagement, navigation, messaging, glanceable notifications and real-time translation, Z-30 delivers essential AR functionality in a sleek, glasses-like form factor. The result is a discreet, high-performance display suited for all-day wear, indoors and out.
AWE attendees also demoed the Z-50—Lumus’ 50-degree field-of-view optical engine that combines luminance efficiency with vibrant color fidelity and sharp image quality. Ideal for immersive applications like media streaming, real-time collaboration and interactive fitness experiences, Z-50 enables AR glasses that are nearly indistinguishable from standard eyewear—lightweight, stylish and ready for all-day use.
Alongside Z-30 and Z-50, Lumus also spotlighted its latest advances across optical engine performance, power efficiency and miniaturization. While immersive functionality has steadily improved across the industry, challenges around brightness, battery life and form factor have remained barriers to everyday use. Lumus’ portfolio reflects just how far the company has come in addressing these hurdles—bringing sleek, all-day-wearable AR glasses into reach.
“Lumus is building the optical foundation for the AR glasses era,” added Grobman. “From compact optical engines to wide field-of-view for next-gen immersion, we offer optical engines for every design application—and we’re just getting started. As the demand for more capable, more wearable AR systems grows, our optical engines and manufacturing capabilities are already aligned with what comes next.”
