Build: 2026.1 (Build 1.190)
Release Date: March 25, 2026
New Twins: more than 15
Executive Summary
VirtualLab Fusion 2026.1 fully embodies our vision of a virtual laboratory: every asset from a real lab is replaced by an Optical Digital Twin, all connected within the Digital Twin Platform for Light. The Optical Digital Twin Hub provides a central gateway to all sources, components, and detectors. Each twin communicates via a universal field-native protocol using electromagnetic fields, with the Field Tracing Engine orchestrating seamlessly to decouple the approximation level of light propagation and matter interaction from the field representation. This isn't conceptual architecture – it's engineering reality. After years of foundational R&D, VirtualLab Fusion 2026.1 delivers a truly interoperable platform where optics work as a system, not as isolated components.
A major highlight of this release is the Metalens Twin – a prime example of what intelligent twins can achieve. Its embedded surrogate model, trained once per meta-atom type across the full parameter space, replaces days of RCWA calculations with minutes of evaluation, turning design exploration and system-level validation from prohibitive to practical. But the Metalens Twin is just one of many. This release introduces a rich set of new and updated Optical Digital Twins across multiple packages, extending capabilities in flat optics, light shaping, and beyond.
Alongside the twin ecosystem, support for importing CODE V systems now enables seamless integration of existing lens designs into the VirtualLab Fusion environment – bridging legacy workflows with the future of optical simulation. Numerous additional enhancements across the platform further improve performance, usability, and visualization, all detailed in the sections below.
VirtualLab Fusion 2026.1 marks not just a new version, but the beginning of a new era in optical design: a truly interoperable platform where simulation intelligence lives where it belongs – in the twins.
What Are Optical Digital Twins?
Source Twins – Know how to generate light
Component Twins – Know how to transform light
Object Twins – Know how light interacts with objects
Detector Twins – Know how to measure light
Each optical digital twin is an intelligent, autonomous agent.
It mimics the optical behavior of its real counterpart.
Stop worrying about patching software products together.
Start building systems in a unified way.
How It Works: Three Enablers + One Orchestrator
1. Intelligent, self-modeling twins
Each twin has its own built-in simulation model.
2. A universal language
All twins communicate through electromagnetic fields.
3. Unlink approximation from representation
Approximations live in propagation, not in light data.
4. The Field Tracing Engine
Orchestrates light flow between twins. Never interferes in twins' simulation models.
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