Adaptive Shading and Illumination via 3D Person Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current shading and illumination systems in buildings struggle to balance visual comfort and energy efficiency, particularly in preventing glare and excessive heating, while also considering individual user preferences and environmental factors.
Innovation Solution
A shading and illumination system that uses a control unit to determine an individual light parameter for each person in the room based on their viewing direction, position, and a 3D image of the room, as well as external parameters such as irradiance and temperature, to actuate shading devices and illumination devices accordingly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the entire façade is closed to implement glare protection, then glare protection is improved, but daylight illuminance levels decrease and contact with the outside world is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The shading device is divided into multiple independently controllable shading elements (e.g., lamellae, panels, or zones) that can be adjusted individually or in groups. This segmentation allows selective shading of specific areas to block glare while maintaining daylight in other areas, resolving the contradiction between glare protection and daylight availability.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the façade receive different shading treatments based on local glare conditions and viewing directions. The system applies localized shading control rather than uniform closure, ensuring glare protection where needed while preserving daylight illuminance in areas where it is beneficial.
2Loss of energy
If presence detection is used for basic control, then energy efficiency is improved, but visual comfort and individualized control are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from static presence detection to dynamic control that continuously adapts to changing conditions including individual user positions, viewing directions, and environmental factors. This dynamic approach enables personalized lighting control while maintaining energy efficiency through real-time optimization.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates multiple sensors (cameras, light sensors, temperature sensors) that continuously monitor room conditions, user positions, and environmental parameters. This feedback is processed to automatically adjust shading and illumination devices, achieving both energy efficiency and individualized visual comfort control.
3Device complexity
If conventional shading control is used without considering viewing direction, then system complexity is reduced, but visual ergonomics and individual comfort deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically detects user positions and viewing directions using cameras and sensors, then autonomously adjusts shading devices without requiring manual user input. This self-service approach maintains low operational complexity while significantly improving visual ergonomics through personalized control.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces manual mechanical control with automated optical and electronic detection systems (cameras, sensors) that track user positions and calculate optimal shading configurations. This substitution reduces operational complexity while enhancing visual comfort through precise, individualized control.
Data Source
AI summary
A shading and illumination system includes a shading device for shading viewing openings, an illumination device for illuminating a room, an external sensor for detecting an external parameter acting on the room, an internal sensor for detecting a 3D image of the room, a position of a person present in the room in the 3D image, and a viewing direction of the person, and a control unit for actuating the shading device and the illumination device. The shading device and the illumination device are actuatable depending on the values measured by the external sensor and by the internal sensor. A light parameter acting on the person is determinable depending on the detected viewing direction, on the detected position, on the 3D image of the room, and on the external parameter. The shading device and/or the illumination device are/is actuatable depending on the light parameter acting on the person.