Optical lens is an essential part of machine vision system, which directly affects the quality of imaging and the implementation and effect of algorithm. Optical lens can be divided into short focus lens, medium focus lens and long focus lens in terms of focal length, wide angle lens, standard lens and telephoto lens in terms of field of view; In structure, there are fixed aperture fixed focus lens, manual aperture fixed focus lens, automatic aperture fixed focus lens, manual zoom lens, automatic zoom lens, automatic aperture electric zoom lens, electric three variable (aperture, focal length and focus can be changed) lens, etc.
Optical lens R & D and manufacturing is in the middle of the industrial chain. Its upstream is the equipment, instruments and raw materials for optical lens production. The raw materials mainly include glass lens, plastic lens, electronic parts, plastic raw materials, metal parts, etc. Downstream is the application field of optical lens, mainly including security monitoring equipment, mobile camera module, vehicle camera module, machine vision system, VR / AR equipment, etc.
From the perspective of optical lens characteristics, optical lenses are mainly divided into plastic lenses, glass lenses and glass plastic hybrid lenses. Whether it is a plastic lens or a glass lens, its structure is composed of multiple lenses. Generally speaking, the more the number of lenses, the higher the imaging quality of lenses. Plastic lens and glass lens have great differences in material properties, processing technology, light transmittance and other aspects, so the final scope of application is also very different. Plastic lens is composed of optical plastic lens. It is widely used in mobile phones, digital cameras and other devices because of its strong plasticity, easy to be made into aspherical shape, convenient miniaturization and other characteristics. Glass lens is made of glass lens. Due to the high requirements of molding technology, coating technology, precision processing and its high light transmittance, it is more used in high-end imaging field, such as SLR camera, high-end scanner and other equipment. The glass plastic hybrid lens is composed of some glass lenses and some plastic lenses. It combines the characteristics of the two and has high refractive index optical performance and stability. It is widely used in surveillance cameras, digital cameras, vehicle cameras and other lens modules.
The downstream optical lens industry is mainly divided into three types according to the product application fields: security monitoring system manufacturers, mobile phone camera module manufacturers and vehicle camera module manufacturers.
In the field of security video monitoring, the downstream of lens industry is mainly for the manufacturers of security video monitoring equipment. With the continuous improvement of China's urbanization level, the comprehensive promotion of large-scale projects such as "safe city", "smart city" and "intelligent transportation" and the key work of governments at all levels and relevant departments to "strengthen the construction of social security prevention and control system" provide a good policy environment for the development of China's security industry.
From 2010 to 2016, the scale of China's video surveillance market increased from 24.2 billion yuan to 96.2 billion yuan, with an average annual compound growth rate of 25.86%. As of 2017, the scale of China's video surveillance market has exceeded 100 billion yuan. It is preliminarily estimated that the scale of China's video surveillance market will reach about 119.2 billion yuan in 2018, with a year-on-year growth of 12%.
Scale of China's video surveillance market from 2010 to 2018
In recent years, the mobile phone camera module has entered a fierce differentiation competition. With the comprehensive popularity of smart phones, camera function has become the key to competition among major mobile phone manufacturers. Mobile lens module manufacturers are also actively developing towards high-end fields such as dual camera lens, wide-angle, ultra-thin, large aperture, optical anti shake, which also puts forward higher quality and process requirements for midstream optical lens manufacturers.
In 2017, the main manufacturers' mobile phone camera module shipment volume is in the field of consumer electronics such as vehicle electronics, and the downstream of lens industry is mainly for vehicle camera module manufacturers. With the continuous improvement of road traffic safety and vehicle safety requirements in Europe and the United States, as well as the rise of ADAS and future driverless market, car camera module manufacturers usher in a good opportunity for development, and also put forward higher quality requirements and shipment requirements for car lens.
In recent years, China's vehicle lens industry is in the period of expansion, with rapid development. In 2011, China's vehicle lens production capacity was 4 million pieces, and in 2015, it expanded to 18.8 million pieces. In the future, China's vehicle lens market will also be vigorously promoted by the outbreak of ADAS (Advanced Driver assistance system) and the Internet of vehicles market, and will continue to expand with huge growth potential.
To sum up, with the rapid rise of the market of terminal application products, the development of downstream industry has put forward higher requirements for the design level and precision production and processing capacity of optical lens. At the same time, its increasing market demand also provides a valuable opportunity for the sustainable and healthy development of optical lens industry.
