British-based illumination company Innerscene has revealed its Virtual Sun, a simulated skylight solution that creates sunshine anytime, anywhere.
Lighting and technology writer Hayden Beeson says, “Virtual Sun casts electric light of varying colour temperature onto objects and creates shadows; and when occupants look up, they appear to see the sun surrounded by a boundless blue sky. This illusion is achieved with a 2D image slice created by an array of collimated images and projected onto a Fresnel prism sheet that produces an effect like virtual reality goggles or a 3D TV, but without the need for glasses.”
Innerscene was founded in 2013 by Jonathan Clark with the aim of manufacturing wall-mountain 3D displays that could be substituted for actual windows. “Not every house, home or building has sufficient windows,” says Beeson, “so this kind of product is brilliant. You simply need to mount the panel and suddenly there’s light. LED technology engineered into the Virtual Sun digital skylight mimics the experience of real sunlight in spaces where that simply isn’t available. With new research about the circadian rhythm and humans’ need for sunlight being conducted all the time, this is an important product.”
The rectangular units weigh 37kg and measure 97cm by 52.5cm each. They can be mounted horizontally in a ceiling, horizontally or vertically in a wall, or at an angle in the corner of a wall and ceiling. According to Innerscene’s measurements, the UV light component is approximately 0.41µW/cm2 with 10,000 lux at the surface of the unit that falls off exponentially with distance.
Source: www.ledsmagazine.com
