In the ever-evolving landscape of sustainable solutions, HEGLA boraident has emerged as a pioneer in addressing a pressing environmental concern – the alarming rate of bird collisions with glass surfaces.
At the upcoming Glasstec 2024 exhibition, the company will unveil its groundbreaking innovation, the BIRDfriend Mobile, which offers a game-changing approach to retrofitting existing surfaces with effective bird strike protection.
According to estimates from environmental organizations, over a billion birds worldwide perish annually due to collisions with transparent and reflective glass panes that they are unable to recognize as obstacles. HEGLA boraident, with its expertise in glass functionalization spanning over two decades, has developed a solution that harnesses the power of laser technology to make windows, panes, and facades visible to our feathered friends.
The company’s UniColor laser printing process creates a uniform pattern of dots on the outside of the glass, spaced at intervals of five to ten centimeters. This seemingly subtle yet highly effective design provides a triple-layered defense against bird strikes:
1. Visual Barrier: The distance between the dots is smaller than the wingspan of birds, creating an impenetrable visual barrier that discourages them from attempting to fly through.
2. Interrupted Reflection: The dot pattern disrupts the deceptive reflections of the surrounding environment, such as trees or bushes, which can otherwise attract birds.
3. Altered UV Reflection: The pattern visibly changes the UV reflection, providing an additional warning signal through light dispersal.
The resulting bird-protection glass is not only highly effective but also aesthetically pleasing, with the opaque or semi-transparent print remaining scratch-proof, light-resistant, and weatherproof for over 30 years.
The BIRDfriend Mobile, to be unveiled at Glasstec 2024, takes this innovative solution a step further by enabling the retrofitting of existing surfaces with the bird protection technology. This mobile system allows for the value-added finishing of glass or insulating units, without the need for extensive setup times, thanks to its app-controlled parameters.
Comprehensive scientific testing conducted by the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) in 2022 has confirmed the efficacy of HEGLA boraident’s bird-protection glass, underscoring the company’s commitment to providing a genuinely effective and sustainable solution to this pressing environmental issue.
As the world increasingly recognizes the importance of protecting our avian populations, HEGLA boraident’s BIRDfriend Mobile stands as a testament to the power of innovation and technology to create a more harmonious coexistence between human environments and the natural world.
Source:HEGLA with additional information added by GlassBalkan
