ZEISS Quantum Challenge

Drive sensing and imaging technologies today Submission deadline: March 31, 2020

The idea is to tackle a real-world challenge in one of three relevant business areas: Medical Technology, Microscopy and Industrial Metrology.
You submit your proposal explaining how a quantum technology solves one of these challenges and still retain the rights to your intellectual property throughout the process. And if selected as finalist, high-level ZEISS stakeholders will work closely with you to advance your idea.

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At a Glance
The Six Challenges
How the Challenge works
Your Benefits
The Jury
Submit your proposal

Although quantum technologies continue to mature, they have not yet transitioned from the science lab to industrial applications – to say nothing of actual products. This situation has prompted ZEISS to start a competition devoted to utilizing quantum technologies in sensing and imaging applications for real-world problems.

And we are ready to help protect your intellectual property (IP): ZEISS' many years of IP expertise will be available to you so that you can best secure your idea.

All finalists will be invited to a workshop at the ZEISS Innovation Hub in Karlsruhe, Germany, in June 2020. There, you can discuss your approach with a team of experts from various industries. The event aims to identify the most promising solutions and to partner up to drive these ideas together.

The Challenges

Six challenges in three categories

Medical Technology

Challenge 1: Tissue Differentiation during surgery
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Challenge 2: Imaging through scattering media
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Microscopy

Challenge 3: Detecting and visualizing neuronal signals for life science
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Challenge 4: New contrasts and label free imaging for life science
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Industrial Metrology

Challenge 5: High precision localization and orientation measurements
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Challenge 6: High precision overlay metrology for the semiconductor industry
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How the Challenge works

Submission Process Quantum Challenge

Your benefits

  • ZEISS experts help the finalists to develop the idea further during the workshop at the ZEISS Innovation Hub.
  • Unique insights into the relevant technologies, the markets at hand, the target application.
  • Experience firsthand how industry evaluates the feasibility, viability, and desirability of such proposals.
  • ZEISS' many years of IP expertise will be available to you so that you can best secure your idea.
To learn more about the Challenge and the problem statements, listen to the talk of Prof. Michael Totzeck below.

The Jury

Dr. Christoph Hauger

Director Advanced Development, Carl Zeiss Meditec AG

Christoph Hauger is a physicist and director of Advanced Development of Carl Zeiss Meditec AG in Oberkochen. His research and professional interests are in the field of biomedical optics, digital visualization systems, AR&VR technologies, robotics and innovation and IP management.

Prof. Dr. Michael Totzeck

Fellow Corporate Research and Technology, Carl Zeiss AG

Michael is a ZEISS Fellow, the head of the innovation management industrial at ZEISS corporate research and technology, and an honorary professor at the university of Konstanz.

Dr. Max Riedel

Head of ZEISS Innovation Hub @ KIT, Carl Zeiss AG

As head of the ZEISS Innovation Hub at KIT, Max strives to identify new technologies, business ideas and talents, with a focus on - but not limited to - the Karlsruhe innovation ecosystem. Max holds a PhD in quantum optics and was deeply involved in setting up the EU Quantum Flagship program.

Dr. Martin Völcker

Principal Innovation Programs, Carl Zeiss SMT GmbH

Martin is responsible for two innovation programs within the business unit Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology: Research SMT is looking for new product technologies and Strategic Innovation Program for new business ideas in semiconductor equipment market. Martin has 15 years of experience in managing innovation starting with ideas in the semiconductor business.

Submit your proposal

Download the template for your proposal here.

In this template, we also provide guidelines regarding:

  • the structure of the document,
  • the information which you need to provide,
  • and the length limit/ word count.

Proposal and appendix should be uploaded in a single pdf-file. You do not have to use our template to generate the pdf-file. However, it is required to follow the guidelines mentioned in the template.

We do not judge the contributions by word count. If you can provide concise answers to the questions outlined in the template, short contributions are appreciated.

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Submit your proposal

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