In it for the long haul
Published on Fri 15 Aug 2008
Siemens subsidiary Osram and the Technical University of Munich make work and play a delight with touch-screen ease.
At the International Air and Space Exhibition, in Berlin, Germany, which took place from May 27 to June 1, and students from the Technical University Munich showcased 'napcabs' – mini sleep-and-work cabins.
Jet-setters and business travellers will be able to use the cabins to 'switch off' and relax or prepare in a quiet place for their next meeting. A pilot project started in the European summer at Munich airport for use by pasengers from around the world.
The napcabs project was the winning project in the 2007 Innovation Competition at the Technical University of Munich. Five students decided to do something to make waiting at airports as comfortable as possible for transit passengers. They developed napcabs, small cabins measuring 4 m2, with arrangements for sleeping and working. Inside a napcab is a comfortable bed, a desk with power and Internet outlets and various entertainment and wellness services – an invitiation to sleep, work or relax.
The Munich students looked to Osram for professional support in creating the right atmosphere with artificial light inside the cabins.
The lighting concept devised by Osram consists of an 'Easy Colour Control' system and light-emitting diode linear light modules. It provides different lighting moods appropriate to the different activities. Passengers can switch between work lighting and relaxing lighting simply by using a touch panel.
In developing its latest solutions, Osram taks its inspiration from nature. "Natural daylight changes throughout the day, and this is how artificial light in our homes and workplaces should also change", says Andreas Wojtysiak, innovation manger for light and health at Osram.
The Easy Colour Control system, therefore, uses bright bluish light as work lighting to simulate natural daylight, and a warm light with a high level of red components for relaxation. Transit passengers can, therefore, make effective use of their time at Munich Airport. Thanks to perfect lighting, the cabin gives them the chance to relax properly before their next flight.
Meanwhile, researchers from Osram have won the 2007 German Future Prize for a new process for manufacturing extremely efficient, long-life LEDs for their 'Light from Crystals' project. The prize is worth €250 000.
The members of the winning team are thin film technology pioneers Dr Stefan Illek and Dr Klaus Streubel, Osram, and Andreas Bräuer, of the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering, in Jena, Germany.
The team's ultraefficient LED can be used in miniprojectors, rear-projection TVs, and night-vision equipment in cars, to name just a few applications. The light sources are so strong that they are also suitable for general lighting needs and for headlights in vehicles. A good example is Ostar – this LED has a luminosity of over 1000 lumens, which makes the little spotlight brighter than a 50-W halogen lamp. And its small size makes the design of entirely new lamp types possible.
LEDs consist of semiconductor crystals that emit light when an electric current flows through them.
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