With the exponential growth of data in Industry 4.0, the physical limits of traditional electronic chips—heat, power consumption, latency—are prompting the search for new computing paradigms. In this context, optical computers, which process information using light instead of electricity, are attracting growing interest.
What Are Optical Computers?
An optical computer uses photons rather than electrons for computation. Transistors and electric circuits are replaced by optical elements able to manipulate light signals—lasers, waveguides, modulators, and more. Photons travel nearly at the speed of light and, unlike electrons, generate virtually no heat in the circuitry.
Technological Foundations
The core of this revolution is photonic integrated circuits (PICs), which miniaturise lasers, modulators, detectors, and waveguides on a single chip. Key devices include VCSELs (Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers) that generate coherent beams directly on silicon; interferometric modulators that turn an electric impulse into phase shifts of light; and nanoscale waveguides, true “glass wires” that channel photons through microscopic optical switches.
These components enable optical logic gates (AND, OR, XOR) and optical matrix multipliers—one of the most demanding operations in neural networks. In predictive-maintenance scenarios, an AI model must analyse vibration, temperature, acoustics and vision simultaneously: optical parallelism allows more models to run in real time, with lower energy for inference and training.
Industrial Automation Applications
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Photonic edge computing – Near the machine, an optical co-processor can handle large data streams (video, 3-D sensors, lidar), relieving the central PLC.
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Ultra-fast motion control – Optical latency minimises jitter in feedback loops, enabling faster and more accurate collaborative robots.
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AI and machine vision – Photonic CNN accelerators support high-frequency quality inspection without halting the production line.
Obstacles to Overcome
A fully optical computer remains a challenge. Non-volatile optical memory is still lacking: current resonators store light only for microseconds, and higher densities are required. Hybrid light-electron integration produces local heat, demanding thermal designs that dissipate laser power without impairing waveguides. On the software side, mature toolchains are missing: compilers must automatically map algorithms onto optical architectures, as GPU compilers do today.
Looking Ahead
Analysts expect the first commercial optical accelerators in embedded industrial systems within five to seven years, initially as plug-in modules on PCIe or M.2 slots. In the long run, fully photonic controllers may emerge, with logic, memory and interconnects all based on light. Combined with photonic sensors (lidar, on-chip spectrometers), they will create more autonomous factories, where computing power sits on the machine rather than in the data centre.
For automation professionals the message is clear: optical computing will not replace electronics overnight, but will become a strategic ally. Investing now in photonic integration, electro-optic modelling and hybrid architectures means preparing for a future where speed, energy efficiency and parallelism are as critical as the robustness of a PLC. Those who master materials, optical design and process know-how will lead the way in the era of Automation 5.0, where photons and electrons work together to push industrial performance further than ever.