News

Abu Dhabi’s TII Rolls Out Fiber Laser For Surgery And Industry

TII’s new 2µm fiber laser is built for surgical precision and industrial processing, with German MedTech backing clinical rollout.

Published

11 months ago

October 1, 2025

Nour Nasir

abu dhabi's tii rolls out fiber laser for surgery and industry

Abu Dhabi Technology Innovation Institute

Abu Dhabi’s Technology Innovation Institute has introduced a two-micrometer high-power fiber laser built to sharpen the precision of surgical work and industrial processing.

Developed at the institute’s Directed Energy Research Center, the Thulium-based system is compact and energy-efficient. Its wavelength interacts cleanly with water-rich materials, allowing surgeons to cut with control and manufacturers to handle delicate substrates without excess damage.

In medicine, early evaluations point to use in urinary stone removal, prostate surgery, and advanced urology devices. Beyond hospitals, the same wavelength can be applied to cutting and welding in water-rich industrial materials where precision and safety are critical.

To move it into clinics, TII has partnered with LIMA Photonics, a German startup specializing in medical device design, regulatory compliance, and commercialization. The partnership links Abu Dhabi’s research base with Europe’s medical technology market.

“At TII, we’re developing high-performance laser systems designed for real-world impact,” said Dr. Felix Vega, Chief Researcher at the Directed Energy Research Center. “Our 2 µm fiber laser showcases this approach — offering capabilities with strong potential in surgical and industrial settings”.

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Dr. Samir Lamrini, CEO at LIMA Photonics, also commented, adding: “We are deeply impressed by the laser research demonstrated at TII and look forward to a strong partnership that we will establish in a synergistic and complementary spirit. The performance, multiple operating modes, and the system architecture of the laser are an ideal asset for clinical applications”.

The collaboration also reflects Abu Dhabi’s aim to convert advanced research into usable products, a core part of the UAE’s innovation strategy. By drawing international partners into its programs, the institute is reinforcing the emirate’s push to position itself as a regional anchor for high-tech industries under Vision 2030.

News

Instagram Redraws Its Wordmark And The Internet Reads “Instagzam”

Instagram’s first wordmark refresh in a decade arrives with new fonts, a restrained gradient — and a Reddit verdict of sidegrade.

Published

4 days ago

August 14, 2026

Nour Nasir

Instagram

Although Instagram’s famous camera icon hasn’t changed, the company has refreshed the handwritten wordmark at the top of its app. This is the first redesign we’ve seen in ten years, and one the internet promptly set about renaming.

“The wordmark at the top of the app hasn’t changed in 10 years, so it was time for a refresh,” Instagram head Adam Mosseri wrote in a post on August 13, describing the new version as “cleaner and more modern” while keeping references to the original design.

Instagram says its team explored hundreds of options — all-caps lettering, camera-inspired concepts, even literal handwriting — before returning to script. “Script reflects individuality, so referencing that felt right,” Instagram director of product design Jasmine Probst said in Meta’s announcement. “The new wordmark is bolder and simpler, with touches of unexpectedness. It cues individual expression, a personal voice, both of which have always been core to Instagram”.

The wordmark is part of a broader brand overhaul: an updated Instagram Sans typeface, two new fonts — the hand-drawn Instagram Pen and Instagram Mono — plus refreshed motion and layouts, and more restrained use of the signature gradient. The wordmark is rolling out globally now, with the rest arriving throughout 2026 and beyond.

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The design mixes cursive and print lettering, some characters connected and others floating free. That hybrid approach, combined with unusually shaped “s” and “r” characters, led some users to conclude the logo actually reads “Instagzam”. On the r/logodesign subreddit, one user said the wordmark looked “fan-made,” like something built in Canva; another called it “an unsettling mix of manuscript and cursive”; a third summarized it as a “sidegrade” — or, inevitably, a “zidegrade”.

Not everyone was hostile to the new look. Some found the half-cursive design stylish and surprisingly readable, while others called it an improvement on its predecessor, and one commenter argued Instagram was simply adopting minimalist branding later than everyone else. Either way, the platform now has a refreshed identity, three updated fonts, and an unofficial new pronunciation.