Don’t you just hate it when sunlight doesn’t cover all of the room you are sitting in (in winters, of course)? Check out this gadget by Think Tekk, Light Bandit, that has the ability to redirect sunlight from a window to any part of the room you need it at.
Light Bandit, essentially a box, is placed on a window sill or usually hanged from the window, attached with optical fibers and works by transferring the light to fixtures that are specifically designed for the gadget. Think Tekk claims that the gadget loses only 1% of the captured light for every foot that the light travels in. Therefore, the company recommends keeping the fixtures at a radius of 9 meters from the device.
As of now, the team has come up with a focused lighting for task, lighting for plants and aquarium lighting fixtures. It has also promised that it is working with its partners to introduce all kinds of light fixtures that are compatible with the fiber optic. Users can also opt for a DIY kit that will allow them to build their personal light fixtures compatible with the Light Bandit system.
Now to the question about how this device works; it comes with a Fresnel mirror located on the front that has an etching of unique pattern. This pattern divides the incoming sunlight into half; one half is sent into the fiber optic cable while the other half is shown the way to the array of mirrors located just below the mirror (Fresnel) itself. The light sensor installed in the array then identifies the angle at which the light makes contact with it, while motors powered by two batteries come into action to change the mirrors’ angle. This process allows the tracking of Sun to be carried out as it makes its way across the sky. Eventually half of the sunlight being sent to array is reflected back to the Fresnel and directed towards fiber optic again, thus lighting up the light fixture installed at the other end of the fiber.
The company is raising funds on Kickstarter with a $200,000 goal in mind. Currently a unit of Light Bandit that comes with 6 meters of fiber and a lamp are being sold for the cost of $299. The price will be increased to $349 once the early specials phase is over. Light Bandit will be shipped worldwide in November 2015.