Our technology
Barco is and has always been a true technology company. Building on decades of experience and expertise in imaging and visualization, we continue to invest strong (on average 11% to 12% of turnover) in R&D in order to meet the rapidly evolving market demands. Our innovation portfolio is risk-balanced and based on cutting edge technology as well as world-class legacy offerings. A disciplined and well-governed approach ensures that our innovation efforts pay off and can be turned into commercial reality.
Technology: approach
Successful innovation is innovation that creates both value for the customer and true business value. Barco increasingly adopts a disciplined approach to innovation, ensuring that our ideas are tightly connected to our strategy and can be turned into both revenue growth potential and brighter outcomes for our customers.
CTO Gerwin Damberg explains how we reshape our approach to R&D and technology
"To remain a technology leader, we have to approach innovation more systematically, always keeping the customer and business value in mind from the moment our innovation ideas surface."Gerwin DambergChief Technology Officer
Technology domains
In 2019, Barco reorganized its technology map. Four key domains now form the foundation for Barco’s innovation for impact in the future.
Advanced display & projection
The display and projection technology that lies at the heart of Barco’s visualization solutions include optics, electronics and signal processing, manufacturing and calibration techniques related to projection systems and direct view display technologies, including LCD and LED. This advanced technology powers a wide range of advanced display solutions for use in demanding markets – from cinema projectors and high-resolution medical displays to video walls for large screen visualization.
Image processing & insights
Professional visualization requires both classical image processing algorithms and data-driven approaches. Barco’s ‘image processing & insights’ technology domain covers image and video capture, enhancements, processing, understanding and rendering as well as techniques to enhance human-machine interaction. Increasingly important is the implementation of high-performance software solutions on modern hardware such as graphics processing units.
Connectivity & data analytics
Technology that enables connectivity is at the core of Barco’s visualization solutions, as it allows the real-time monitoring of devices or the local or remote streaming of audio and video data. The connectivity platforms that power Barco solutions are always highly optimized for the professional application at hand, whether that is live entertainment, diagnosis or surgery in healthcare settings or sharing content in the workplace. On top of enabling connectivity, Barco increasingly helps customers understand the data transmitted, thus providing trustworthy, actionable insights and boosting productivity, collaboration and engagement.
Computational optics
Computational optical technology exploits the properties of light to enable visual experiences that cannot be delivered using traditional optical systems alone. This technology opens the door to a spectrum of new solutions with functionalities or value that cannot be delivered by other visualization or imaging techniques. Examples include Demetra, Barco’s multispectral skin imaging platform and the high dynamic range (HDR) light-steering technology that uses real-time programmable lasers and lenses to shape light into high-contrast, high-brightness images on screen.