Chipscale optical inertial sensors for high-accuracy positioning
Zero Point Motion manufactures optical inertial sensors targeting 100x accuracy gains over incumbent technology. The stack—FPGA, ASIC, MEMS, photonic design tools (Zemax, KLayout), and test automation—reflects a hardware-first company in active tape-out. Engineering-heavy hiring (13 roles) paired with active projects around photonic automation and MEMS design-to-measurement loops signals scaling from R&D into production validation.
Notable leadership hires: Head of Engineering
Zero Point Motion designs and manufactures chipscale inertial sensors for positioning and navigation applications. Founded in 2020 and based in Bristol, the company is a photonics-focused semiconductor play backed by deep tech venture capital. The product combines optical and inertial sensing on silicon, targeting high-volume markets where current MEMS and accelerometer solutions lack the precision required. The team is currently shipping photonic integrated circuits (PICs), lasers, and detectors through design freeze into scale-up phases, with parallel efforts to automate experimental workflows and mature yield.
Core design and simulation tools: FPGA, ASIC, MEMS, Zemax (optical), KLayout (photonic layout), COMSOL. Languages: Python, C, C++, Verilog, SystemVerilog. Test/control: I2C, UART, GPIO, plus Python-based test automation. Infrastructure: Azure, Windows, Linux.
Tape-out and production scale-up of optical inertial sensor MEMS. Active projects include photonic-centric automation, experimental setup design and automation, Python-based test tooling, PIC/laser/detector delivery, and closing feedback loops between simulation and measurement.
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