MantiSpectra: Transforming spectral sensing with photonic innovation
At CES 2025, MantiSpectra's Giuseppe Coppola shed light on the company’s innovations, applications, and vision for the future.
Published on January 28, 2025
Part of the Mantispectra team after winning a Gerard & Anton Award in 2023 © Bram van Dal
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MantiSpectra, a former winner of the prestigious Gerard & Anton Award, is making waves in the tech world with its groundbreaking spectrometer-on-chip technology. This Eindhoven-based company is a shining example of how photonic chip technology can revolutionize industries ranging from consumer electronics to healthcare.
In an interview with PhotonDelta's Jorn Smeets at CES 2025 in Las Vegas, MantiSpectra's Giuseppe Coppola shed light on the company’s innovations, applications, and vision for the future.
A spectrometer on a chip
MantiSpectra’s core innovation is a spectrometer-on-chip, an advanced spectral sensing technology that measures the chemical composition of materials. Traditionally, such capabilities required large, complex, and expensive equipment. MantiSpectra has miniaturized this functionality, enabling it to be integrated into handheld devices, IoT sensors, and wearable technology.
“It’s unique; nobody else has it,” Giuseppe Coppola said at CES. “Our chip can be used in applications ranging from robotics and consumer electronics to personal health. For instance, smart home robotics can detect different types of flooring, and in personal health, it can measure glucose levels or blood pressure.”
This ability to "see what cannot be seen with the naked eye" positions MantiSpectra’s technology as a game-changer across multiple sectors.
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Endless applications
MantiSpectra’s versatile technology focuses on two major domains: Production process control and smart consumer products.
1 Production Process Control
The company’s technology enables real-time insights into goods during production, processing, and distribution. This makes it ideal for industrial applications such as:
- Quality Control: Ensuring goods meet the highest standards.
- Production Efficiency: Automating processes to reduce waste and increase productivity.
- Traceability: Monitoring goods throughout the supply chain for better transparency.
By seamlessly integrating into production equipment and IoT sensors, MantiSpectra’s spectrometer-on-chip technology improves efficiency across industries.
2 Smart Consumer Products
MantiSpectra is equally impactful in consumer markets, where its chips can be embedded into wearable devices, kitchen appliances, and robotics. This technology addresses modern consumer demands, such as:
- Personal Health: Continuous monitoring of vital signs, body metrics, and skin properties.
- Food Quality Control: Assessing food's freshness and nutritional value in real time.
- Smart Home Automation: Enhancing the functionality of domestic appliances for a seamless user experience.
These applications enhance convenience and align with a growing emphasis on healthy, sustainable lifestyles.
The Mantis Shrimp connection
The company name, MantiSpectra, draws inspiration from the mantis shrimp, a marine crustacean with some of the most complex eyes in the animal kingdom. The message: just as the mantis shrimp sees beyond the capabilities of human vision, MantiSpectra’s technology allows us to analyze and understand materials at an unprecedented level.
CES 2025 as a gateway to new opportunities
For MantiSpectra, CES was a platform to connect with industry leaders and demonstrate their market-readiness. Coppola: “CES is the place where, if you want to play and be recognized in consumer electronics, you need to be,” Giuseppe explained. “It’s a great occasion to meet big companies, our customers. These companies can leverage our chip to bring disruptive innovation to the market.”
MantiSpectra showcased its technology at the Dutch Pavilion, attracting attention from some of the world’s leading consumer electronics brands. “We’re having a lot of good discussions with huge companies. If everything goes right, we can name the price of our product in a couple of months”, Coppola promised, hinting at significant developments on the horizon.
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Scaling up in 2025
With over a decade of research and development behind them, MantiSpectra is now ready to scale. The year 2025 could mark a pivotal moment for the company as it transitions from development to commercial growth. “We expect this is the year of growth and scaling up for MantiSpectra. We’ve been working on this for over ten years and are now ready for prime time.” With increasing interest from industry giants, MantiSpectra aims to set new standards in spectral sensing technology.