CATEC participates in a new European initiative, the In Light project, which will develop smart windows for the aircraft industry. These windows are able to get dark or go lighter at the request of the passengers. It is a new system that will permit to reduce the energy consumption of the aircraft, since it helps to avoid a rise in the temperature of the cabin by reducing the air conditioning consumption.
This development will allow the passenger, through an independent switch, to improve the comfort in the cabin, and to avoid situations of excessive brightness or glare without impeding the view of the outside landscape. The system not only filters a part of the visible radiation, but also the near-infrared portion. Thus, it contributes to avoid a rise in the cabin’s temperature.
The In Light project consists of a consortium led by the IK4-Cidetec Technological Centre (located in the Basque Country). In addition to CATEC, other major companies of the sector participate: companies such as EADS, and GKN, or European investigative entities such as the German research centre Fraunhofer, the Finish centre VTT, or the Italian one CVR. CATEC will take part in different work packages of the project through its Materials and Processes Area for validating the concepts developed and the detection of their operating and fault limits. At the same time, CATEC will work on the development of an inspection methodology for Non Destructive Testing (NDT). CATEC’s work team is made of Dr Fernando Lasagni (person in charge of the validation phase), the engineers Sergio González and Borja Rodríguez, and a team specialised in NDT.
The initiative, which will be developed for three years, belongs to the 7th Framework Programme of the European Commission, and it has a total budget of EUR 4 million.
This development will allow the passenger, through an independent switch, to improve the comfort in the cabin, and to avoid situations of excessive brightness or glare without impeding the view of the outside landscape. The system not only filters a part of the visible radiation, but also the near-infrared portion. Thus, it contributes to avoid a rise in the cabin’s temperature.
The In Light project consists of a consortium led by the IK4-Cidetec Technological Centre (located in the Basque Country). In addition to CATEC, other major companies of the sector participate: companies such as EADS, and GKN, or European investigative entities such as the German research centre Fraunhofer, the Finish centre VTT, or the Italian one CVR. CATEC will take part in different work packages of the project through its Materials and Processes Area for validating the concepts developed and the detection of their operating and fault limits. At the same time, CATEC will work on the development of an inspection methodology for Non Destructive Testing (NDT). CATEC’s work team is made of Dr Fernando Lasagni (person in charge of the validation phase), the engineers Sergio González and Borja Rodríguez, and a team specialised in NDT.
The initiative, which will be developed for three years, belongs to the 7th Framework Programme of the European Commission, and it has a total budget of EUR 4 million.

“The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement n° 314233.”

