Street lighting can be responsible for a significant proportion of an area's energy costs and CO2 production, but is essential for safety and comfort. But what if there was a way to do away completely with street lights?
NIRVision is using nanotechnology to develop flexible, thin films to replace existing night-vision technology. The films use several nano-based components to convert infra-red light into visible light that we can see and understand. The first is a photo-detector film that converts invisible infra-red light into electrons. These electrons then stimulate an optical film, like a thin flexible display, to create a visible image. The overall technology will be less than a 1/2000th of a millimeter in thickness, more sensitive than conventional night-vision technologies and will use just a 1/40th of the energy.
The films will be very flexible and lightweight and can be incorporated into standard glasses or even vehicle windscreens to create night-vision head-up displays. They will also cost a fraction of what it costs to produce conventional night-vision technology. The technology has exciting potential in all security applications. NIRVision technology should be ready for field testing by 2012.
Founded: 2009
Partner University: University of Florida