Cold-Air Inflatable Screens Protect Drivers from Glare

Custom, Cold-Air Inflatable Protects Drivers from Blinding Glare

Can you just imagine? You're driving home from work when you turn a corner and - wham! A blinding ray of light hits you right between the eyes. Valparaiso University knew this was possible when they installed a 400-square-foot solar mirror.

That's big, and it could certainly project one whopper of a sunbeam. (Not a good thing when you're operating a vehicle.)

 The huge mirror is part of the solar energy experiments conducted at the Markiewicz Solar Energy Research Facility on the university's campus. Scott Duncan, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, explained, "We wanted to protect surrounding roadways from glare reflecting from the solar mirror."

You might usually think of inflatables for marketing purposes, but their material and size easily allows them to function in all sorts of applications that aren't marketing related. While this was our first attempt at specifically making glare protectors, the end result was spot on. The university got just what it was looking for, and local drivers were saved from the potential hazards of super-sized sunbeams.