RESEARCHERS IN ITALY have developed new technology that will bring sunny skies while indoors

CoeLux, an EU-funded research project, is a high-tech window system which recreates the physical and optical effects of natural light indoors by producing the effects of sunlight.

It uses LED technology which reproduces the sunlight’s spectrum, an optical system that mimics the sun’s rays, and nanostructured materials, which are only a few millimetres thick, which recreates the Rayleigh scattering process which occurs in the atmosphere. 

CorLex provides three settings which impersonates lighting in different geographical areas: Tropical (60°), Mediterranean (45°) and Nordic (30°),

The project is still in the early stages, but could be used to improve health and well-being among people.

The purpose is aimed primarily towards the healthcare sector – improving the mood of those who wouldn’t normally be able to go outside – but the technology could be applied in a number of other industries.

It can be also applied to certain situations, such as areas that cope with extreme climates such as Canada or the United Arab Emirates, or countries that are located furthest from the equator and experience very little sunlight for most of the year.

CoeLux is expected to be market ready by the end of 2014.

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