metaAIR Laser Eye Protection by George Palikaras |
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| DESIGN NAME: metaAIR PRIMARY FUNCTION: Laser Eye Protection INSPIRATION: It started with sports where fans used lasers to blind the opposition. Soon realizing that laser strikes was a rising global safety issue for pilots and being a frequent flyer, George was compelled to work on a product that would help make aviation safer for all. His research background in nanotechnology and his passion for aircraft mechanics meant he could work on a solution. When George presented his prototype Airbus, NATO and airlines approached him to commercialize it. UNIQUE PROPERTIES / PROJECT DESCRIPTION: In aviation pilots can be distracted or temporarily flashblinded by the light from a laser beam. Since 2009, there has been over 75,000 laser strikes, leading to eye-injuries and flight delays. MTI and Airbus partnered to co-develop metaAIR, the world’s most advanced laser protection eyewear. metaAIR offers a unique combination of high transparency, high blocking efficiency and zero color distortion for the pilots. High performance is achieved through proprietary holographic nanopatterned films OPERATION / FLOW / INTERACTION: metaAIR protects pilots’ vision during a laser strike by deflecting it. A typical optical filter would distort and introduce colored vision which in the critical phases of take-off and landing would adversely affect the pilot’s ability to use internal and external visual queues like runways lights and avionic instruments. However, metaAIR’s ground breaking transparency and color balancing layers allow pilots to safely fly at night and see their instruments clearly with no distortion. PROJECT DURATION AND LOCATION: The Project started in 2014 in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. The initial flight testing and Airbus pilot feedback begun in 2015 in Toulouse, France. The 3rd revision was tested by an Airline operation in 2016 and final design was locked in 2017 moving to certification. The product prototype debuted at the Farnborough Airshow in the summer of 2018. |
PRODUCTION / REALIZATION TECHNOLOGY: metaAIR went through frame design and optical function iterations with Pilots. Initial Prototypes with SLA 3D Printers. Hand sketched aesthetic skins moved to surface modeling and CAD, then transferred to injection moulding. An impact and chemical resistant frame with TR90LS-7 premium nylon. The eyewear arms designed to fit under pilot’s headsets. metaAIR includes custom photopolymers to create a triple layer volume-holographic optical filter which blocks red, green and blue colors. SPECIFICATIONS / TECHNICAL PROPERTIES: Width: 127 mm x Depth: 38.1 mm x Height: 38.1 mm Lenses MXColor: nanopatterned layer offering extra clarity and compatibility with cockpit instruments, HUDs and runway lights. MX3: multilayer holographically recorded nanostructures to filter red, green and blue light. AR M-Clean: oleophobic anti-smudge backside lens coating. meta-CLEAR: 1.7mm thin ultralight-weight optical lens material. TAGS: Nanotechnology, Pilot safety, laser eye protection, safety eyewear, aviation, laser strike RESEARCH ABSTRACT: metaAIR research is multidisciplinary: material science, human factors, optics, nanotechnology, aeronautics and medical fields. $10 million used to perfect metaAIR for safe use in aviation. A new nanofabrication method called holography was developed and patented. 200+ hours of flight and ground lab tests were conducted with questionnaires collected reporting on comfort, optical performance and color perception using more than 300 participants resulting in 13 product design iterations. CHALLENGE: Aerospace applications set the bar on performance standards. At the start, no-one had understood how color distortion affects the pilot’s ability to fly an aircraft. This was a major challenge, to protect against a laser attack while keeping the color perception intact. Holographic optics were the answer however, the 2nd challenge was how to scale to an industrial process. The team developed new manufacturing tools achieved 0.5nm accuracy with high repeatability, achieving record performance. ADDED DATE: 2019-02-28 23:43:01 TEAM MEMBERS (10) : George Palikaras, Themos Kallos, Gardner Wade, Frederico Bastos:, Marc Trepanier, Andrew Mark, Oshrit Harel, Kevin McKinney, Martin Bitter and Thierry Leger IMAGE CREDITS: Image #1: Paul Douglas, Partner at Melon Branding + Design, 2019 Image #2: Paul Douglas, Partner at Melon Branding + Design, 2019 Image #3: Paul Douglas, Partner at Melon Branding + Design, 2019 Image #4: Paul Douglas, Partner at Melon Branding + Design, 2019 Image #5: Paul Darrow, Founder of Darrow Multimedia Inc., 2019 Video Credits: Paul Darrow, Founder of Darrow Multimedia Inc., 2019 PATENTS/COPYRIGHTS: Copyrights belong to Metamaterial Technologies Inc., 2019. MTI currently owns 93 patent applications across 33 patent families in advanced materials, holography and nanomanufacturing. 6 of these families relate to the application, method, and manufacturing processes for metaAIR. MTI also owns 2 related trademarks for metaAIR and metaViISOR. Some example patents are listed below: Filter made of metamaterials, CA2851347, 2011, Canada Metamaterial Optical Filter and method for producing the same, US15653374, 2016, USA Spatially varying volume holographic gratings, GB18102749, 2018, UK |
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| Visit the following page to learn more: https://www.meta-air.com/ | |||||
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NAME: metaAIR PROFILE: In aviation pilots can be distracted or temporarily flashblinded by the light from a laser beam. Since 2009, there has been over 75,000 laser strikes, leading to eye-injuries. MTI and Airbus partnered to co-develop metaAIR, the world’s most advanced laser protection eyewear. |
| AWARD DETAILS | |
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Metaair Laser Eye Protection by George Palikaras is Winner in Safety Clothing and Personal Protective Equipment Design Category, 2018 - 2019.· Press Members: Login or Register to request an exclusive interview with George Palikaras. · Click here to register inorder to view the profile and other works by George Palikaras. |
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