Soon, windows and doors that sound alarm after detecting suspicious movements

Washington, March 18 (ANI): German scientists have come up with a technology that can enable windows and doors to sensitise any suspicious movements, and sound an alarm.

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institutes for Applied Polymer Research IAP in Potsdam-Golm and for Computer Architecture and Software Technology FIRST in Berlin say that the heart of their technology is a motion sensor and a special coating.

They say that their innovation may one day provide even more security by enabling window panes and glass doors to detect whether and how quickly something is moving.

According to them, if anything changes in front of the pane, or someone sneaks up to it, an alarm signal is sent to the security guard.

"The glass is coated with a fluorescent material. The coating contains nanoparticles that convert light into fluorescent radiation," says IAP group manager Dr. Burkhard Elling.

Describing the principle on which the new system is based, the researchers reveal that the invisible light of a UV lamp "illuminates" the window panes, and generates fluorescent radiation in the coating.

They say that the radiation is channelled to the edges of the window, where sensors detect it.

If someone steps into the light of the lamp, less light reaches the coating and less fluorescent radiation is produced.

The researchers say that if several sensors are installed on all four sides of the window frame, conclusions can be drawn from the data as to how fast and in what direction an object is moving.

They say that the threshold for the alarm can be set so that moving objects the size of birds, for instance, do not trigger an alarm.

The team also say that that their system is cost-efficient because the coating can be sprayed onto the windows by airbrush or glued on as a film.

A demonstrator system already exists, and the researchers now plan to optimise the dyes and their concentration in the coating. (ANI)