Glare detection for implementation of automatic blinds

Abstract

Global warming has triggered a chain of green initiatives in the recent decades. One such initiative is to have natural illumination from sunlight as much as possible, especially in open plan offices. However, too much exposure of sunlight to the eyes can result in unwanted glare, causing discomfort and headaches and hampering the productivity of office workers. To counter this problem, most offices have blinds installed for workers to manually adjust the amount of sunlight entering the room for comfortable illumination. This presents a challenge, which is to have the blinds low enough such that it is not too glaring for the workers, and yet allow enough sunlight for the office to be illuminated naturally. However, because the position of the sun tends to gradually change throughout the day, the blinds will have to be constantly adjusted by the worker to maintain the balance between comfort and illumination. This project aims to develop a glare detection mechanism which will be useful in implementing automatic blinds to provide sufficient illumination to the room, as well as ensure the comfort of workers and lowering the loss of productivity.