see-it – Camera-based, user-centered daylight control system for optimal working environments

Project leader: David Geisler-Moroder

Project manager overall project: Robert Weitlaner, HELLA Sonnen- und Wetterschutz GmbH

 Project partner: 

  • HELLA Sonnen- und Wetterschutztechnik GmbH
  • Bartenbach GmbH
  • emotion3D GmbH

HELLA     Bartenbach     emotion3D

Contracting authority: Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (BMK) represented by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG)

FFG en     BMK en     Stadt der Zukunft

Funding program: Stadt der Zukunft ("City of the Future")

Project period: 01/02/2023 - 31/01/2026

Abstract

In the project technologies in the field of building construction and building automation are being researched for quality and performance improvements in the workplace. The aim is to individualize the control of sun protection to the people who need to be protected from glare and overheating and hope to see through.

Starting point / motivation

We already see Matrix headlights on the road today, they are state of the art in the car industry. The digital matrix sun visor "Virtual Visor", presented in 2020 at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), may also soon protect us from glare in the car.

While light can be finely adjusted in the automotive sector, the sun's radiation through our large building windows can only be influenced in a relatively undifferentiated way with certain types of sunshades. At the same time, however, it is precisely this radiation through the transparent building envelope that determines the right workplace quality.

Adequate lighting leads to significantly better sleep, less sick leave, less painkillers taken. Good workplace lighting has been shown to have an impact on posture and thus musculoskeletal comfort and contact with the outside world also shows positive effects on health.

In the see-it project, we are researching the aforementioned technologies in the field of building construction and building automation for quality and performance improvements in the workplace.

Contents and goals

The project title see-it stands firstly for a sensor system that sees and detects people and secondly for the users who "see better" work tasks through ideal daylight conditions.

As a research project, see-it describes a model-predictive control ecosystem. It weighs different façade settings transdisciplinarily according to a target function. The target function includes, for example, best comfort, minimum CO2 emissions, maximum use of daylight, minimum energy demand, minimum overheating (in the room, building and neighbourhood) and maximum circadian stimulus in variable weighting.

Users will interact with the see-it system: "I'm not going to close the blinds and then switch on the light. Hey control system, is there a possible setting for the façade and artificial lighting that can satisfy my current needs, uses daylight as freely available renewable energy and has minimal CO2 emissions?"

Methods

Research, functional patterns, demonstration, and evaluation in Living Labs as proof of concept.

Expected results

The consortium is aiming for a positive result of the proof of concept. The spatial detection of people and furniture will be carried out with adequate accuracy. The conflicting interests between heat protection, glare and visibility to the outside will be solved in the best possible way by a practicable influenceability of the solar radiation.

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