Leading independent specialists in glass, Glass Technology Services Ltd (GTS), are proud to support research and development across the glass industry and its supply chain and were honoured to sponsor the ‘Innovative Solution’ category of the glass industry’s Glass Focus 2018 awards.
Congratulations to Pilkington UK, who were announced as the winners of the ‘Innovative Solution’ award at the Glass Focus 2018 dinner and awards ceremony organised by British Glass on 22 November 2018. Pilkington UK received the award for their Pilkington AviSafe™ development – an innovative coated glass which aims to prevent occurrence of bird/window strikes.
Developed by Pilkington’s UK-based research and development technology centre, Pilkington AviSafe™ utilises a patterned UV-enhanced coating to make the glass visible to birds while maintaining the optical transmission of the glass.
Simon Slade, a keen ornithologist based at the R&D Technical Centre, was a key driving force behind the project and described the issue: “Millions of birds die each year when they fly into glass in homes, offices, and bus shelters. This is a growing challenge for the glass industry, architects and specifiers. Reflection strikes, when birds fly toward something reflected by the glass such as the sky or vegetation, are the main cause of the problem: some existing products are effective, but reduce the transmission of the glass and the view from inside the building.”
Although Pilkington AviSafe™ has not yet been commercially released, it has been tested on jumbo plates of glass and Pilkington expects the coating to be applied in other applications including solar control, safety and security, and noise control.
Philip Marsh, Business Development Manager at Glass Technology Services Ltd, presented the award on the night and said: “As a partner across a wide range of glass R&D, we were delighted to sponsor this award and recognise the importance that continual innovation in glass plays in the modern world – from architecture, eco-design and packaging to medical devices, technology and energy. Congratulations to Pilkington UK on this innovation, which through research comparing human and avian vision in the visible and ultraviolet spectrum enabled a patterned coating to be developed and applied to the glass that is visible to birds without any significant detriment to the aesthetic properties of facades and glazing.”
Glass Technology Services Ltd (GTS) is a leading provider of analysis, mechanical and performance testing, quality assessment, failure analysis, glass research and development and a range of consultancy services – specialising in glass, raw materials and glass products. Accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 and ISO 9001 quality standards, Glass Technology Services has an established reputation for specialist knowledge in glass and technical support.
