SmartLight system can direct light into hidden buildings

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati have developed a technology that can help reduce the cost of building lighting by using natural light. The SmartLight system is designed to direct sunlight to darkened rooms that lie inside buildings without the need to install new lighting systems. In addition, it can also allow the storage of excess light to provide electricity for lighting equipment on cloudy days.

The heart of this system is liquid electric cells of just a few millimeters filled inside a liquid mixture with good optical properties such as mirrors, even better. The surface of this liquid can quickly be adjusted to convert cells into lenses or prisms to control light passing through them. The control process is powered by pre-implanted photovoltaic cells in liquid electric cells and it needs 10,000 to 100,000 times less power than using traditional light bulbs.

The cells can form a narrow grid near the top of a window and can be used to direct light to the ceiling to illuminate the entire room, or to focus on some special locations for the area. work, or go straight through the room to go to another hidden room. Instead of using switches on the wall, the SmartLight system can be controlled via an application that runs on the smartphone, allowing users to set the path of the light and the system will automatically adjust according to the command received. . The research team says each individual cell can react to change light intensity quickly, and SmartLight can ensure a stable level of illumination throughout the day.

Because normally sunny days will have a lot of extra light, this system can direct them to a concentrated energy storage area and turn it into electricity to help light bulbs work at night or in cloudy days. The stored energy source can also be used for other electrical equipment such as heating or cooling systems.

Currently, researchers are looking to source financial investment to attract interest from the government or industry partners to help bring SmartLight into daily life. According to researchers, the technologies needed to create a commercial SmartLight system are available.