Directional Glass - Transparent Sound - HyperSound

Window cleaners will soon be cleaning speakers - There's minimal styling, and then there's Hypersound. Nice glass.

These crazy glass speakers speak volumes - but only you'll hear them: Nope, those aren't picture frames or tiny window panes; they might look like sheets of glass, but they're actually speakers. Forget wires, drivers, woofers, cones and all the other gubbins you'll usually find staring back at you when you look at a speaker stack. Turtle Beach has found a way to ditch it all for its Hypersound Glass prototype.

The top secret tech behind these incognito speakers has been in the works for a few years, but until now only worked with opaque or mesh grilles - but that was a little bit too traditional for Turtle Beach. This new look feels like something right out of the Jetsons. Better yet, they're directional - so you only hear what's playing when you're sat in the sweet spot.

Until you've given it a try it's difficult to picture how it all works. The video above does a pretty good job, but basically, if you aren't stood in the right place, you can't hear any sound at all. Think of it like a flashlight, but with sound.

That pretty much makes it the perfect tech for home cinema systems and stereo speakers for your PC; you can be knees-deep in Overwatch enemies, or absorbed in a 4K Blu-ray, but anyone else in the room can have a conversation without having to yell.

It's not just good for gaming and TV, either. The tech could end up built into your PC monitor, or even your car dashboard - so you're the only person that hears sat-nav directions while the rest of the cabin is bopping along to the radio.

The glass version is still a prototype right now, but Turtle Beach will be showing it off at E3 next week, and will hopefully give us a clue as to when you'll actually be able to buy a pair.

These Glass Speakers Work Like Magic: Turtle Beach’s Hypersound Glass speakers use a sheet of transparent glass to drive sound in a highly focused beam directly in front of them while being inaudible outside the beam’s range. Welcome to never knowing why you’re hearing ads all the time—our Blade Runner hell future has arrived.

The exact means the Glass uses to generate a tight beam of sound isn’t specifically disclosed, but according to the company, the glass is layered with transparent films. Like other highly directional speakers, what’s being generated isn’t audible sound waves but rather ultrasonic waves. Based on other products of this nature, it’s safe to guess that as those ultrasound waves pass through the glass/film sandwich they’re modulated in such a way that they become audible again while traveling in a straight line, though the details on specific improvements will likely remain trade secrets. Acoustics is, to put it mildly, a bizarre science.

While these see-through speakers probably won’t replace more traditional options for the home market, there are some interesting applications for the technology. According to a press release, Turtle Beach may try to integrate the technology into things we already make out of glass, like computer monitors and car windshields—things that are already easy to break and expensive to fix. But heck, being able to crank a laptop to full volume without bothering the person sitting next to you would be worth it.

Similar to other Hypersound products, the Glass might also be useful for people with hearing loss. Because the sound that directional speakers produce is so focused it’s more like wearing headphones than what you would think of as “speaker sound.” For that same reason, Hypersound Glass might find its way into things like ATM screens, where privacy is key.

Highly directional sound isn’t a particularly new concept—with early entrants in the market like Holosonic producing commercial models since 2000—it just never quite caught on at a consumer level. Glass also isn’t a novel material for driving sound: We’ve seen plenty of glass speakers in the past. But the two existing technologies have never been combined successfully before. Turtle Beach is mainly known for its gaming-focused products, but the company appears to be putting serious resources behind these laser-like speakers.

We’ll know more about the Hypersound Glass when a prototype model debuts at E3 this year.

A Jacket For Window Cleaners?

The new Levi’s Commuter smart jacket, being pushed to window cleaners. Yet no information on if they get wet or washing instructions!

Levi's® Commuter™ x Jacquard by Google Trucker Jacket - The Commuter Smart Jacket: The new Levi’s Commuter smart jacket is fashioned in collaboration with Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) research along with Project Jacquard, which was created to embed technology in the clothes we wear.

Wearables is a sensitive subject for Google, because it is still nursing the wound from the failure of Google Glass (in terms of wide acceptance and not technology). After all the hype, considerable investment, and hard learned lessons, the company has decided to create a wearable that is more accessible and not so conspicuous.

The Commuter smart jacket looks just like any other jacket, which may be its saving grace. Unless you know the tech is in there, you would be hard pressed to find it. This was achieved using conductive yarns so that custom touch and gesture-sensitive areas can be woven at precise locations, anywhere on a piece of garment. Additionally, sensor grids can be woven throughout the textile, creating large, interactive surfaces.

When Google announced the smart jacket at the recent I/O conference, it was being pushed to urban cyclists and the commuter market, but there is no reason it can’t be applied anywhere else, especially after developers get their hands on the APIs.

Achieved using conductive yarns, custom touch and gesture-sensitive areas can be woven at precise locations, anywhere on a piece of garment. Additionally, sensor grids can be woven throughout the textile, creating large, interactive surfaces.

So What Can This Connected Smart Jacket Do?

As of now, not that much, but Google will release some APIs in 2017 so developers can use it create more solutions and integrate other applications besides the limited fair currently being offered.

The sensor that is attached on the cuff of the jacket lets you control your phone with some basic functionalities so you can focus on the road while accessing the information you need. This includes messages, calls, Google Maps, Google Play, Spotify and Strava using the Jacquard platform.

Small Business Application

In addition to bicycle messengers as possible business application, this smart jacket can be used in different industries. Security guards, window cleaners, drivers and anyone else that needs to communicate with minimal effort can take advantage of this technology.

The Levi’s Commuter smart jacket is going to be tested in beta this fall with availability in the Spring of 2017. The price for the jacket hasn’t been announced.

Do you have a small business that requires your employees to be outdoors a lot, and if so, do you think a connected jacket can improve their productivity and quality of work? If you have used any type of wearable as part of your operation, and might consider the Levi’s Commuter Trucker Jacket, please let us know.

Viability of the Levi’s Commuter Smart Jacket

What gives this connected smart jacket a great chance is the way it is made. It is produced using existing Levi’s factories so interactive textile can be woven the same way as any other Levi’s garments in the mills it operates. That means no special factories to invest in, which allows Levi’s to keep the cost low and scale to meet demand if consumers like the jacket and becomes hugely popular.

Also see; The Cold Weather Safety Jacket

This Window Can Help Power A Skyscraper

Click to enlarge.

This window can help power a skyscraper: Imagine if windows could be designed to collect the electricity used to power a home or a skyscraper. The technology that could make that a reality might be closer than you think. In fact, it could be ready by next year, said John Conklin, the president and CEO of SolarWindow Technologies Inc.

This is something that would revolutionize clean energy for large commercial buildings, which are the company's primary target market, Conklin told National Observer. “I truly believe it’s one of the most disruptive and perhaps one of the single greatest breakthroughs in clean energy ever,” he said.

Maintaining the window's transparency a challenge:

Designing the technology has meant working out solutions. The biggest has been ensuring the windows remain transparent while still generating enough electricity. The windows require a special coating that turns ordinary glass into a conductor that transforms energy into electricity that feeds directly into the building's power system.

During Maryland-based SolarWindow’s early years in 2009 and 2010, a number of individuals told the firm’s team that it would be impossible for them to create a transparent photo-voltaic technology. “We defied that,” Conklin said.

The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) has been working with SolarWindow on the technology and the two partners are now focused on ensuring that the coatings can work on larger areas of glass. “Challenges are always there. Nothing is easy in this area,” said Maikel van Hest, a senior scientist in the Thin Film and Processing Group within the National Center for Photovoltaics at NREL.

Right now, SolarWindow estimates that its technology can generate 50 times more energy than rooftop solar panels would in a 50-storey building. Using all four sides of the building, in a 50-story glass skyscraper, this would consist of six acres of glass - enough to provide far more than the one megawatt of power that would come from a rooftop solar array, Conklin said. This is much more space than what's available on a skyscraper’s roof. “The name of the game is real estate,” he said.

Overall, the refurbished windows could offset the equivalent of the emissions from vehicles traveling nearly 3.5 million kilometres by reducing energy demands in a 50-storey building, Conklin estimated. But he also noted that skyscrapers use huge amounts of energy and that the new solar windows would only cover somewhere between 30 to 50 per cent of total power consumption. “This is a tremendous opportunity for the environment, a tremendous opportunity for renewable energy and especially for tall towers and skyscrapers to finally get some renewable energy.”

Home owners might one day find the same technology in their houses. The more glass a home has, the more power it would be able to generate. But for now, SolarWindow plans to pursue the more lucrative commercial market first, where Conklin believes there are significant business opportunities. He said the commercial market is huge, estimated to be a $100-billion global market for flat glass and fabricated windows. Out of that, SolarWindow is targeting some five million commercial buildings in the U.S.

Here's how the SolarWindow works:

SolarWindow’s organic photovoltaic technology uses ordinary window glass and then applies different layers of coatings made of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen are applied. Transparent conductors form two layers. Between the two is a third layer, which absorbs light. When it comes in contact with the chemical coating, the solar energy is transformed into electrons. The movement of the electrons produces the electricity on the surface of the glass. The conductors on each side transport the electricity to ultra-thin wires inside the window frame. Those in turn feed the energy into the building’s electrical systems.

Conklin, an industrial consultant who has studied chemical engineering, helped develop similar surfacing coating techniques used in the fabrication of the United States Stealth Battleship prototype while at Excel Precision Inc. He is also the founder and vice president of National Solar Systems, LLC, a New York-based renewable and alternative energy design and installation firm.

SolarWindow is not alone in trying to develop solar-powered windows. Some companies, for example, have small strips over the glass that absorb the light. But these strips wind up creating a pattern that’s almost like having window blinds, according to van Hest.

But while no company has yet managed to commercialize a truly see-through window, SolarWindow says their windows will be like any other windows and will come in architecturally desirable tints and shades. “That’s the nice thing about SolarWindow’s photovoltaic, the way they’re doing it. It’s not obstructing your view from the outside world,” said van Hest from NREL, the U.S. government lab.

But he added that with every step comes a new hurdle, such as choice of materials or how those materials are applied. “Yeah there’s definitely some hurdles, but we have pathways on taking those hurdles and taking it to the next step, which would be commercialization.”

Paula McGarrigle, managing director of SOLAS Energy Consulting Inc. in Calgary, said SolarWindow’s concept is great. “I love the idea of using the horizontal spaces on windows to generate electricity.” According to McGarrigle, the economics of the technology will depend on a number of variables such as the energy load of the building, how much surface area is available on a building and the power prices of a jurisdiction.

Conklin said the cost of SolarWindow’s technology would be “low,” and calls it a “very small add-on price point to an existing window,” which would be paid back in less than one year for a skyscraper.

Solar power from all four sides of a building:

In order to get their technology to market, SolarWindow needs to raise additional capital. To date, the company has relied on private placements from investors. The firm also wants to form partnerships with glass and window fabrication companies as well as chemical companies.

Conklin, who describes himself as risk-averse, said it’s not his intention to start the company up in a $45-$50-million production facility when glass manufacturers already exist. “We’ve already demonstrated our process can be seamlessly integrated into a glass manufacturer or window fabricator and coated right at their facility.”

Partnerships with the right chemical firms are important because the technology employs various chemicals applied to glass to generate the electricity. Such partnerships will enable SolarWindow to hold down its operating expenses and capital costs while achieving an affordable price for the windows.

The technology is able to generate power on all four sides of a building, not just on the south-facing side in the Northern hemisphere. Conklin said the coatings can create electricity under shaded, diffused and low-light conditions.

That ability to use the same glass on all four sides of a building will make the technology attractive to architects, developers and designers who are looking to generate renewable energy but still maintain the aesthetic beauty of a building, Conklin added.

Changing Color With Smart Windows

Nanoparticle based windows could switch colors on demand.

Nanoparticle-based windows could switch colors on demand: One day, you might not need special bulbs to give your room's lighting a different hue -- you'd just tell the windows themselves to change. Rice University researchers have discovered that you can change the colors transmitted through glass by sending a voltage through pairs of gold and silver nanoparticles, which you frequently find in stained glass windows. Jolt a window one way and you'd get a bright red; reverse the voltage and you'd get blue. All you're really doing is forming or removing chemical bridges between the particles.

The technology is still far from production, so don't expect to renovate your home just yet. However, you only need tiny amounts of the precious metals to achieve dramatic effects. As such, you might well find yourself upgrading to color shifting smart windows around the whole home, not just in one or two prime locations.

Medieval artisans unwittingly used nanotechnology when they mixed gold chloride into molten glass to create richly hued stained glass windows. Soon we could have full-color displays or stained-glass windows that change color at the flick of an electrical switch, thanks to the same kinds of light-scattering nanoparticles.

We’re one step closer to such wondrous things with a new method for connecting metal nanoparticles via teensy “drawbridges” of thin layers of silver, developed by researchers at Rice University. This lets them link pairs of nanoparticles that scatter different colors of light together to form simple color displays. The scientists described their work in a new paper in Science Advances.

Nanoparticles are special because they straddle the boundary between the macroscopic and quantum realms, where classical physics and quantum mechanics hold sway, respectively. It’s their size that matters: a nanometer is equivalent to one 25-millionth of an inch, and nanoparticles range in size from a few nanometers to several hundred nanometers. That gives them unusual properties not found in the same elements at the macro scale.

This includes optical properties, notably how metal nanoparticles in particular scatter light. Scientists have analyzed medieval stained glass windows, and found gold and silver nanoparticles are the key to the deep reds and yellows found therein.

The gold nanoparticles absorb blue and yellow light; red light, with its longer wavelength, reflects off them and passes through the glass. Something similar happens with silver nanoparticles; only bright yellow light scatters off and passes through the glass. Make gold spheres a bit larger, and you can get green or orange. Make the silver nanoparticles smaller, and you get blue.

They have interesting chemically reactive properties, too. In 2008, for instance, scientists at Queensland University of Technology found that some stained glass windows actually helped purify the air when the sun shone through them. The secret ingredient was gold nanoparticles. Sunlight activated the nanoparticles so they could destroy volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) — the source of that new car smell, for instance, but toxic if inhaled in larger quantities.

The properties of medieval stained glass are so unique, Welsh scientists recently used their own versions of the material to build a special 3D panoramic camera for the European Space Agency’s 2019 Mars rover mission. In that case, the useful property was the way the glass resists fading — even after hundreds of years of exposure to the sun’s UV radiation. By blocking UV radiation, the nanoparticles in the stained glass chips will capture the true colors of the red planet.

Soon We Could Have Displays and Windows That Change Color with the Flick of a Switch. But it’s proven challenging to induce metal nano particles to switch colors, a critical ability if you want to build a color display with them. Past work has managed some slight shifts in hue by linking nanoparticles with nanowire bridges. The Rice scientists improved on those techniques to make the color shifts stronger via a kind of chemical bridge.

First, the Rice team fixed pairs of gold nanoparticles to a glass surface coated with conductive indium tin oxide, or ITO (it’s in your smartphone screen, for instance). They used the ITO to coat the surface of the gold particles with a silver electroplate. Then they immersed them in saltwater electrolyte with a silver electrode to form a circuit. Zap the nanoparticles with a negative voltage, and a conductive silver “drawbridge” forms. Reverse the voltage, and the bridge withdraws.

“The great thing about these chemical bridges is that we can create and eliminate them simply by applying or reversing a voltage,” group leader Christy Landes said in a press release. “This is the first method yet demonstrated to produce dramatic, reversible color changes for devices built from light-activated nano particles.”

Making Reverse Osmosis Membranes

Su Lv shows off a reverse osmosis membrane cartridge.

Making ultra-thin materials with holes the size of water molecules: While visiting GE's China Technology Center, we got to take a look at reverse osmosis membranes. Reverse osmosis is the most energy-efficient means of removing dissolved substances from water. It's what's used commercially for desalination, the process of producing drinking water from seawater.

The term "membrane" is typically used to mean a thin sheet of some material (in fact, the word "sheet" appears in the definition of the term). But for some of the things GE is using it for, the membranes were thin yet robust tubes, each one capable of supporting the weight of a bowling ball. Despite that toughness, features on the tubes are so fine that they can allow water molecules to pass through but reject many things that are roughly the same size, such as the salt ions found in seawater.

This all raises an obvious question: how do you actually produce anything like that? We decided to look into the process of making reverse osmosis membranes. It quickly became clear that the toughness of the membranes is a key feature. Water purification systems need to survive repeated cleaning cycles and go right back to use. We talked to Sijing Wang in Shanghai, who said that some membranes in the systems GE makes can be used for up to eight years.

That toughness, however, is provided by polymers that are microporous, in that they have features a thousand times larger than what is needed for reverse osmosis. These would do little to help remove salts from water, but they provide structural support for membranes that can. The large pores also ensure that water can easily flow through the system once it has passed through the membrane that acts as a filter.

 A test setup that allows Sijing Wang to see how membranes (held in the rectangular cases, lower right) respond to different types of waste material.

The interactions between that membrane and the water it's purifying help dictate the efficiency of the system. Since the membrane doesn't interact well with water, more water will flow through it when it's thinner. For reverse osmosis membranes, this layer is kept to a micrometer or less in thickness. The pores within it have to be kept small so that the ions of the salts in the water can't pass through a pore without interacting with the membrane, which will repel them. (Technically, the pores aren't small enough to physically block the ions from passing through, but the interactions between ions and the membrane keep them from getting too close to the pore opening.)

So you need to both layer a thin membrane across your support membrane and control the size of the pores that form within it, typically limiting them to less than 10 nanometers.

There are two methods of creating thin membranes. One involves forming a polymer but keeping it dissolved in a solvent that also mixes with water (often an alcohol of some sort). As you increase the fraction of water present, the polymer will eventually precipitate out. There are several ways of doing this. The simplest is to just heat the solution so that the solvent evaporates, which increases the fraction of water until the polymer precipitates. Alternatively, you can place the solution in a humid environment until the fraction of water goes up.

The most common method, however, is to create a viscous, 20 percent polymer solution and dunk it directly in water. The solution is so viscous that it won't mix into the water; instead, water infiltrates it and causes the polymer to drop out of solution. This process is often done on a continuous roll of material that's sent through a vat of water.

In all these instances, the action takes place at the interface between the polymer surface and the environment. As a result, the membrane primarily forms at this interface, creating the very thin barrier needed for reverse osmosis. Polymer deeper in the solution tends to form a larger, more open structure, which allows water to flow freely away from the membrane.

An alternative approach that functions in a similar manner is to use a building block for the polymer that dissolves in some solvents and a chemical activator that dissolves in an immiscible one. The two solvents will form two different layers (much like oil and water), and the building block and activator will only meet each other at the interface. As a result, polymerisation only takes place at this interface, resulting in a very thin layer.

How do you put holes in it? To a certain extent, the process takes care of that itself. As water begins to enter a solvent it's not fully compatible with, it will form tiny droplets that are held together by surface tension. The polymer will form around those droplets, leaving small holes behind. The size of these holes is determined by the speed of the process; the quicker it takes place, the smaller the water droplets will be and the smaller the resulting pores. By varying the solutions being used and the speed of the process, it's possible to have fine control over the pore formation process.

There are also additional layers of control possible. It's possible to include molecules that act as "pore generators" in the solutions, which are then removed when the membrane is rinsed later. Wang said most of the polymers GE uses are made of aromatic polyamine—which means a carbon ring that nitrogens are attached to. These chemicals do allow a certain degree of flexibility, in that they can be different sizes (one or more rings) and have slightly different chemical properties. (They're also carcinogenic before they're polymerised, but they're inert afterward. While water purification systems can be said to "contain a carcinogen," they pose absolutely no threat to human health.)

By adjusting the chemistry of the polymer, as well as the process by which it's formed, it's possible to have very fine control over the membrane that ultimately forms. This allows manufacturers to customise membranes for different tasks and to provide the durability that's needed for multiple years of use.

Sidney Loeb (left) with first RO membrane.

First Demonstration Of Reverse Osmosis: In the late 1940s, researchers began examining ways in which pure water could be extracted from salty water. During the Kennedy administration, saline water conversion was a high priority technology goal-"go to the moon and make the desert bloom" was the slogan. Supported by federal and state funding, a number of researchers quickly advanced the science and technology of sea water conversion, but UCLA made a significant breakthrough in 1959 and became the first to demonstrate a practical process known as reverse osmosis (RO).

At that time, Samuel Yuster and two of his students, Sidney Loeb and Srinivasa Sourirajan, produced a functional synthetic RO membrane from cellulose acetate polymer. The new membrane was capable of rejecting salt and passing fresh water at reasonable flow rates and realistic pressures. The membrane was also durable, and could be cast in a variety of geometric configurations. The impact of this discovery has been felt worldwide, ranging from applications in home demineralizers to "rivers of fresh water" in the Middle East and North Africa, where desalination facilities produce trillions of gallons of pure water every day. About 60 percent of the world's desalination capacity is located on the Arabian peninsula.

The process of osmosis through semipermeable membranes was first observed in 1748 by Jean-Antoine Nollet (pictured). For the following 200 years, osmosis was only a phenomenon observed in the laboratory. In 1949, the University of California at Los Angeles first investigated desalination of seawater using semipermeable membranes. Researchers from both University of California at Los Angeles and the University of Florida successfully produced fresh water from seawater in the mid-1950s, but the flux was too low to be commercially viable until the discovery at University of California at Los Angeles by Sidney Loeb and Srinivasa Sourirajan at the National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, of techniques for making asymmetric membranes characterised by an effectively thin "skin" layer supported atop a highly porous and much thicker substrate region of the membrane. John Cadotte, of FilmTec Corporation, discovered that membranes with particularly high flux and low salt passage could be made by interfacial polymerisation of m-phenylene diamine and trimesoyl chloride. Cadotte's patent on this process[4] was the subject of litigation and has since expired. Almost all commercial reverse osmosis membrane are now made by this method. By the end of 2001, about 15,200 desalination plants were in operation or in the planning stages worldwide.

Diamonds Enhancing Image Of Window Cleaning

A jewellers diamond - Diamonds can dramatically enhance the image of a Window Cleaning Company.

The Vision Glass Detailer (Written by Henry Grover Jr.): Diamonds can dramatically enhance the image of a Window Cleaning Company. They can also enhance our service and increase our annual profits. By making it possible to clean glass more effectively in less time. Restoring glass by removing scratches, abrasions, hard water spots, and acid damage. Further;...glass can now be coated and thus protected with thin films of diamond.

The picture above is a jewelers diamond. The one below is a false color micrograph of polycrystalline diamond particles used as superabrasives. The last picture is a micrograph of a weathered window glass surface. We have no use for jewelers diamonds. Yet polycrystalline diamond particles or super abrasives are quite useful. Since they can be used to effectively clean and restore glass surfaces. The picture to the far right shows quite vividly how porous ordinary glass surfaces can become over time. Oily fingerprints, pizza grease, or just dust will fill these holes, valleys, and tunnels. Making it impossible to effectively clean the glass using typical cleaners. But when we add a microcrystalline super abrasive to our cleaning solution we get much better results. Those ball like polycrystalline diamond particles with hundreds of sharp edges each, will reach down into the surface and dig out all acidic contaminants.

A false color micrograph of polycrystalline diamond particles used as superabrasives.

Polycrystalline diamond particles are also quite effective at lapping flat glass with the right tools. Creating what are called precision surfaces. Such particles are very effective owing to their size, shape, purity, and hardness. Some are even friable. Which means they actually break up into smaller particles when used. These smaller particles give the surface a smoother feel and appearance. So diamond can be used to restore window glass.

Ways have been found to ‘functionalize’ certain diamond particles with specifically reactive chemical species. These custom made particles will then bond to themselves and the chemistry of precision glass surfaces. Forming protective thin films. I put it this way because I personally do not believe the manufacturers of this technology adequately emphasize the need to properly clean glass on a microscopic level. Simply because engineering precision glass surfaces requires more expertise which limits the size of their market. Even the professional market just wants a ‘wipe on wipe off’ product. In reality this is not practically possible.

A micrograph of a weathered window glass surface.

I am just beginning to bring the technology of super abrasive engineering of precision glass surfaces to the window cleaning industry. This is a field that has existed for a long time in the optics industry. It is highly scientific. If it were not we wouldn’t be able to look out into the unbelievable depths of space at the stars, galaxies, and quasars. Or down to the farthest reaches of the microcosm where living cells thrive, divide, and work together to create our bodies. Quality glass surfaces are critical to the proper functioning of lenses and mirrors. They are also to our work. My hope is that many will follow me.

Henry Grover Jr is currently involved in R&D writing. He writes a column for the Window Cleaning Business Owner magazine called SURFACES, and manages a sub-forum for the Window Cleaning Resource with the same title SURFACES. He is also working in developing what he calls custom products for both the Window Cleaning Industry and others involved in the maintenance, restoration, and preservation of window glass. He has given seminars in the past on glass stain removal/identification techniques, wrote tech articles for the American Window Cleaner Magazine, traveled for consulting work on several famous buildings, and worked in the capacity of a consultant for many window cleaning companies in different parts of the US. 

Go to www.glass-smart.blogspot.com to read more.

Car Technology Leading The Way For Window Cleaning?

Could car technology wipe out the need for window cleaners in homes?

McLaren To Do Away With Windshield Wipers? Is McLaren about to do away completely with windshield wipers? According to comments made by the sports car manufacturer’s chief designer, that may just be the case. Speaking recently with the Sunday Times (via CarsUK), Frank Stephenson said his employer is developing a system that can repel material from a windshield by creating a force field using high-frequency sound waves. Such systems were originally created by the military for use on fighter jets.

Stephenson didn’t go into detail but explained that an ultrasonic transducer on the screen could send 30 kHz waves of ultrasound across the surface and repel all debris--even snow and insects. Benefits of the system are said to be improved visibility, since debris would be repelled instantly, as well as improved aerodynamic efficiency, due to less drag. It would also mean no more days of having to remove ice from the windshield in northern climates, or at least that’s the thinking.

Unfortunately, there’s no word on when we might see the system fitted to one of McLaren’s cars. Note, this isn’t the first time Stephenson has mentioned the system. During a previous interview with YouTube channel Drive, Stephenson not only talked about wiper-less windshields but also color-changing exterior panels, glowing interiors and shape changing memory materials.

The windscreen wiper has been around since 1903, and its basic design hasn’t changed much since. Coming up with the idea was inventor Mary Anderson, who saw the need for a ‘window cleaning device’ after she saw drivers sticking their heads out of the car to see where they were going during heavy rain.

McLaren plan to make windscreen wipers obsolete.

McLaren are planning to make windscreen wipers obsolete with plans to use a high frequency electronic system to clear windscreens in cars. Much of the ‘clunkiness’ in cars – stuff like wind-up windows and a cranking handle – have been made obsolete in cars as technology arrived to make things work better, but one thing that remains on modern cars from the dawn of the motoring age is the windscreen wiper.

Invented by Mary Anderson (pictured) in 1903 after she realised drivers of the first motor cars were having to lean out of the window in rainy conditions to see where they were going, it became a standard fitting on all cars within a few years. Windscreen wipers have certainly improved over the years as technology has developed, but they’re still basically a strip of rubber moving across the windscreen to clear rain. But that looks set to change. Frank Stephenson, McLaren’s Chief Designer, has told the Sunday Times that McLaren are close to developing a system that will do away with windscreen wipers altogether.

Frank said the idea comes from the military and, although he refused to go in to detail, it seems likely it will use an ultrasonic transducer on the screen to send 30kHz waves of ultrasound across the screen removing all debris – rain, snow and even insects – instantly. It seems this isn’t science fiction, but a system McLaren hopes to be able to roll out in the next couple of years. And although it sounds expensive, it could actually be a lot cheaper to fit than a pair of wipers and their motors. Clever stuff.

They already have this..

Wild color changing “paramagnetic paint”, at the press of a button, change the colour of your car! With the introduction of a new technology using ‘paramagnetic’ paint coating, the choice won’t be set in stone the moment the car rolls off the production line. In fact, the concept is to allow owners to change the paintjob whenever they see fit – whether that be in the car park or at the lights. This changes paint colour by adjusting the voltage of an electrical current sent through the vehicle’s bodywork.

The technology works by running a current through a special polymer applied to the vehicle before painting. This polymer contains particles of ‘paramagnetic’ iron oxide. With the application of an electric current, the spacing of the oxide’s crystals is adjusted, affecting their level of light reflection and thus our colour perception.

HomeJoy - A Cleaning Tech Company

Homejoy Cleaning Owners have Cleaner Profiles -
Clients know who their Homejoy Cleaner is before they arrive (including what they look like).

Behind The Scenes At Homejoy, A Cleaning Startup That Says It’s Really A Tech Company (by Anthony Ha, writer at TechCrunch): If I were ranking startups based on how much I value their services, Homejoy would place pretty darn near the top — every month or so, one of their cleaners comes by my apartment and in two or three hours it becomes more sparkly than I’ve ever been able to make it. All for just 20 bucks an hour.

Homejoy’s been growing quickly, too — it raised $1.7 million in seed funding from Andreessen Horowitz, First Round Capital, and others, and about 10 months after its official launch, the company says it now has a workforce of more than 50 employees in its San Francisco office. And yet … when I’m asked about exciting startups, Homejoy isn’t the first one that comes to mind.

Some of my hesitation, I suspect, is related to the criticism leveled at a number of startups, that they’re basically building services for lazy techies, rather than something practical for “the rest of us.” (A criticism that’s probably too big and complicated to be mentioned in passing in a post that isn’t going to address the issue at all.) (Oops.) But there’s also the question of whether Homejoy is even a tech company at all. Maybe it’s just a cleaning service with a decent website? (The same question might be asked of competing startups like Exec, or of startups offering related services, such as laundry-focused Prim.)

Apparently this is something members of the Homejoy team were thinking about too, because they emailed me recently to suggest a guest column about why Homejoy really is a tech company. I made a counter proposal: How about I come to their office and see the technology in action? They agreed, and earlier this month, that’s exactly what I did.

My tour guide was Mark Linsey, Homejoy’s vice president of engineering. (He’s second from the left in the photo above, which features Homejoy’s five-person engineering team — and yes, they’re hiring.) He told me that he was the company’s first technical hire, joining as a consultant in January and then going full-time in March. Linsey, whose past work includes time as a technical program manager at Amazon and co-founding the social marketing startup Crowdbooster (which, like Homejoy, was backed by incubator Y Combinator), said he was convinced to stay by the size of the technical challenges that Homejoy was facing. Like Amazon, he said Homejoy’s innovation is less about putting up a website for selling things (in this case home cleaning), and more about the backend technology.

“At Amazon, there’s a whole software stack and product team for their warehouses and their internal logistics that they wouldn’t be able to deliver the prices they do without,” he said. Similarly, he claimed that with Homejoy, “It’s like an iceberg. The customer-facing website is 5 to 10 perent of the whole.”

So (to strain the metaphor) what technology is hidden under the water? For one thing, Linsey said Homejoy is “a very data-driven company.” Matching the right cleaner to the right customer involves a lot of factors — not just how the cleaners and customers are rated, but also the routes that can maximize a cleaner’s efficiency throughout the day, not to mention likely transit times in a given geography.

To illustrate this point, Linsey showed me the interface that Homejoy created for cleaners to identify exactly where they are and aren’t willing to work. Originally, he said, cleaners identified their working areas based on zip code, but that turned out to be too broad (for example, many of the cleaners rely on mass transit, so in parts of the San Francisco Bay Area, many of them can only work near a BART stop). Now Homejoy gives them a tool where they can draw the exact, custom borders of their work area.

Linsey also showed me the “demand map” that Homejoy has created to display where its customers and cleaners are. The map works at a several scales, showing supply and demand across the entire United States (and in Canada, where Homejoy recently launched), or zoomed in to a specific geography — he showed me the Bay Area, which was crowded with multicolored pins. One color represented past customers, another showed upcoming appointments, and yet another stood for users who expressed interest in Homejoy but are outside the existing coverage areas.

The map is important for choosing new markets and finding new cleaners, Linsey said, recalling one occasion when the map revealed that Homejoy was starting to get a lot of jobs in the middle of the San Francisco Peninsula, an area where it didn’t have many cleaners (they were more concentrated in San Francisco to the north and the Palo Alto/Mountain View area to the south), so that’s where it focused its recruiting efforts.

The map, like a lot of Homejoy’s technology, was built by Linsey and his team. There’s also a custom CRM system for tracking cleaners, clients, and jobs, and a custom phone system, allowiing cleaners and clients to communicate without actually knowing each other’s phone numbers. (The phone system is nicknamed Zoidberg, a nod to both the TV show Futurama and to Zoiper, the system that the company used before building its own)

None of this eliminates the need for a large customer service team. In fact, Homejoy let me listen in on a call with an initially unhappy client. On the call, a cleaner’s car trouble meant that the company had to scramble to find a replacement (it helps that Homejoy pays some of its top cleaners to remain available on-call), and the aforementioned unhappy customer ended up getting a free cleaning — which seemed to to make up for a lot of the stress.

As for how Homejoy’s approach is working for its cleaners, well, the ones I’ve spoken to have been pretty happy with the service. Special Projects Manager Marlo Struve told me that cleaners make between $12 and $15 an hour, and she noted that they have the freedom to determine where and when they’re willing to work. She also sent me the following quote from cleaner John J. (the company doesn’t identify cleaners by their full names): “Before [Homejoy] I had to solicit jobs myself and now Homejoy is like a household name. It’s really picking up and I don’t have to do as much [soliciting] as I used to [for my services].”

Linsey added that if I had stopped by the office in the company’s early days, I would have seen a very different picture. The work that’s now accomplished by his team’s tools was originally done by co-founders/siblings Adora and Aaron Cheung, who worked out of their apartment and manually matched up cleaners and jobs. Homejoy’s early approach, he argued, embodied Y Combinator founder Paul Graham’s advice that entrepreneurs should “do things that don’t scale” (advice that includes doing a lot of work manually at first, then building technology to automate the bottleneck).

Both Linsey and Struve said that without the technology and systems that were built after Homejoy’s launch, the company could not have grown from one to 26 cities in just over six months. (And by the way, the list of markets where Homejoy is now available includes cities like Atlanta, Phoenix, and Tampa Bay, so maybe this isn’t just for startup douchebags after all …) And for what it’s worth, I was pretty impressed by what I saw — not just by the technology, but by Linsey’s enthusiasm in outlining the problems Homejoy has already solved, and the ones that it still needs to face.

“There’s a lot I think we can improve on in terms of gathering data,” Linsey said. “I also think that Homejoy is not going to be exclusively a cleaning company forever — there are other services on the horizon.”

The Sky's The Limit For Window Cleaning Systems

There’s no doubt that the professional window cleaning sector will continue to make progress, taking advantage of new technology and innovations in engineering and materials to produce even more adaptable window cleaning systems.

The sky's the limit for window cleaning systems: They say that necessity is the mother of invention, and the window cleaning sector is certainly proving this to be true, using innovative materials, technology and designs to answer client needs.  Jochen Wagener, head of marketing for Unger Europe, reveals how window cleaning systems are adapting and developing to keep pace with key market trends.

The only way is up – if the continuing architectural trend for high-rise buildings is anything to go by. The majority of our most iconic buildings seem to prove the theory that size matters, in terms of height, that is. Whether we are talking about the Shard in London, the Commerzbank Tower in Frankfurt, or the Torre de Cristal in Madrid, the fashion for high-rise, high-tech designs – featuring lots of glass and metal – doesn’t look like slowing down any time soon.

Tall buildings, whether new or established, need regular, thorough and effective cleaning to ensure they present a professional face to customers and colleagues. For the highest heights, ‘robotic’ automatic window cleaning systems, operated by remote control and using chemical-free pure water, are gaining ground. However, if a more ‘James Bond’ approach is preferred, abseiling using traditional squeegees is also still widely used. Operatives can also regularly be seen cleaning high level windows from cradles, using small poles, brushes and again pure water.

Professional window cleaners continue to embrace new methods and equipment – with water-fed poles emerging as another popular choice. These poles allow operatives to clean high buildings and windows safely from the ground, alleviating the need to work at height.

For many years, window cleaners have had the choice of two types of pole system: telescopic or modular. However, telescopic poles can tend to flex as they are extended, with a subsequent loss of control. They also have some weight issues; for example, a six-section telescopic pole will always have six sections as they cannot be removed – so even if you only need to use four sections to clean to the height required, you are still carrying the weight of six.

Modular systems, although better at extending without weakening rigidity, simply become too heavy as they are extended, and the extensions also add width to the poles making them less easy to handle. They can also take a long time to construct or build up, which is a disadvantage in terms of making the best use of operatives’ time.

This presented the sector with a challenge: how do you create a water-fed pole system that will clean up to 65 feet/20 metres in height, but be both lightweight and easy to control? Along with engineering and design techniques, combining the best features of both telescopic and modular poles, using the right materials is crucial – and more and more options are emerging to provide specific solutions.

Carbon fibre, fibreglass and aluminium are all materials that have brought choice and flexibility to the window cleaning sector, helping to create equipment that offers alternatives to suit the situation or building type. Carbon fibre in particular offers an amazing balance between strength, weight and rigidity. In comparison to steel it is stronger, more rigid, and yet it weighs considerably less.

These ‘next generation’ carbon fibre poles provide a better balance between weight and rigidity. Because the poles are lighter they make the job of a cleaning operative that much easier and more comfortable, putting less of a strain on their bodies and enabling them to clean swiftly and efficiently. The fact that they are lighter also means that the operative is less likely to get tired as quickly, so they can clean a larger surface area than if using a conventional system.

However, just because the poles are lightweight it doesn’t mean that they deliver less in terms of rigidity. Even when extensions are added to increase the length and reach of the system, the poles do not bend or become unwieldy. On the contrary rigidity, and therefore control, is maintained, allowing every corner and crevice to be cleaned thoroughly.

As companies and organisations have become more environmentally aware, an increase in the use of solar panels has also brought challenges for the window cleaning sector. Installing solar panels represents a big investment in both time and money, so businesses need to ensure that they are kept in top condition to reap the expected rewards.

The Renewable Energy Association (REA) says that solar power is the fastest growing energy technology in the world. The two main systems currently in use are:

• Photovoltaic (PV) panels – these convert sunlight into electricity and are available in a variety of formats including cladding, roof tiles, and custom glazing.

• Solar hot water systems – these absorb energy from the sun and transfer it, using heat exchangers, to heat water. A variety of collectors are available, which are commonly mounted on roofs in the same way as PV panels.

No matter where a building is sited, solar panels are exposed to the weather and environmental influences 24/7, 365 days a year. Dust, dirt and other deposits not only look unsightly, they affect the performance of the panels. Traffic fumes and soot can build up quickly, especially on systems that are located near roads, railway stations or on industrial parks where there is a constant stream of trucks, vans and cars.

The orientation of the panels is another factor to consider. Because you are looking to achieve maximum exposure to sunlight, panels should ideally be oriented to the south. When oriented in other directions, a build-up of plants or moss on the surface can result. The angle at which the panels are placed can also have an impact.

It’s widely agreed that if the panels lay very flat, then there will be more deposits to deal with. A steeper angle will help, to a certain extent, but dirt may still have a tendency to collect in lower corners. And although rain removes some of the existing dirt, it also deposits new dirt on the surface.

Soiling that is left on the panels stops sunlight from getting through, meaning that less energy is produced, in some cases resulting in a decrease in efficiency of 30 per cent. This is obviously not acceptable, so regular cleaning should be put in place to ensure you protect your investment.

Water-fed poles have already established themselves as a popular choice with professional window cleaners, because they allow them to clean high buildings and windows safely from the ground, alleviating the need to work at height. These pole systems now also lend themselves perfectly to cleaning solar panels, dispensing with the need for ladders or cranes but still cleaning safely and efficiently to help boost solar output.

Cleaning with chemicals also runs the risk of leaving a film on the panels that can prevent the sun’s rays from getting through, so the most effective way to clean is to use pure water. To get to this state the water is processed to remove the minerals and impurities that would otherwise dry and lead to spots and streaks.

Cleaning techniques used on the outside of buildings are now helping to influence how interiors are maintained, and window cleaning equipment is adapting to fulfil a growing need for safe and effective ways to do an ‘inside job’.

Many different businesses and organisations require indoor cleaning systems. From shopping centres, with their central, glass-clad atriums; to museums and galleries that need safe ways to clean around precious exhibits; to manufacturing facilities incorporating roof skylights – indoor cleaning is becoming increasingly important.

Demand is growing for easy-to-use, flexible systems. Companies are looking for more efficient ways to keep their premises clean – and that means efficiencies in both time and money. Methods of cleaning high interior windows that dispense with the need for ladders, but still operate in a safe way, are becoming more popular.

Telescopic pole systems are smaller and lighter, so they are more easily moved around buildings and between floors than bulky ladders, plus they get the job done quickly, without compromising quality. Systems that use pure water don’t need chemicals, saving both money and helping companies with their ‘green’ agendas; plus re-usable, washable pads mean less waste and more sustainability.

Indoor window cleaning systems means that customers are now able to clean places that were previously out of reach, such as ceilings, escalators, conservatory roofs and elevators. Ordinarily, this would require specialist cleaning and logistics to arrange – increasing financial outlay because of the high cost of hiring equipment such as scissor lifts, and causing disruption to the working day because areas have to be closed off while cleaning takes place – but the latest systems provide a solution to these problems.

Thanks to continuous product development and feedback from clients on their changing needs, great cleaning results are now the norm, and not difficult to achieve when compared to the more traditional glass cleaners and paper towels, used in years gone by.

There’s no doubt that the professional window cleaning sector will continue to make progress, taking advantage of new technology and innovations in engineering and materials to produce even more adaptable window cleaning systems. Whether you need to clean inside, outside, or up on the roof, the 21st century window cleaning sector is rising to the challenges ahead, and providing imaginative solutions that deliver the required results.

Expanding The Window Cleaning Family Business

Jim Vaughn's license plates honor a window cleaner's best friend. Click to enlarge.

Gresham's All Clean Window Service is thriving as father hands reins of family business to son - When Jim Vaughn got into the window-cleaning business in the 1970s, many computers were the size of his van. Now, 35 years later, Vaughn carries a computer in his pocket, but the tools of his trade have not changed much: It still takes a squeegee to clean a window.

Even so, Vaughn's All Clean Window Service has rebooted and modernized in the past year and a half, since his son Brandon joined as a partner in the company based in the elder Vaughn's Gresham home. Like his four older siblings, 29-year-old Brandon Vaughn spent years scraping the grime off glass alongside his father before making his own way into the working world. Unlike his brothers and sisters, Brandon was drawn back, particularly as his father nears his 64th birthday and thinks about climbing fewer ladders. "Windows just run in our blood," Brandon Vaughn says with a chuckle, noting that his brother tints windows and one of his sisters sells window coverings.

Jim Vaughn left a job printing telephone books and newspaper inserts so he wouldn't have to work nights. At the time he was a young father with two daughters and a third on the way. Two sons would follow. "My family was more important," he says. "I didn't want to be away from my kids." A retiring acquaintance was selling off a small window-cleaning business, and Jim Vaughn thought it might be a better fit for family life.

Jim Vaughn, (right) who turns 64 in a few weeks, will leave more of the window washing to son Brandon and two employees as he scales back his workload at All Clean Window Service in the coming years. Vaughn's business has been cleaning glass in Gresham and surrounding areas for the three and a half decades.

Like father, like son. Brandon Vaughn also had two young kids when his job marketing machinery demanded ever-increasing travel, and three decades later he came to the same conclusion. A business is born - When Jim Vaughn washed his first windows in the late 1970s, it was tough to earn $800 a month during the slower winter months. For a while, he and family members did janitorial work to make ends meet. He grew his business just enough to fill a schedule for himself and one more worker and then kept it on an even plane for years. At one point he sold part of his client list to keep from getting too busy.

Increasingly, more aggressive companies are moving into the window-washing business, but Jim Vaughn says he never felt it because he kept his customers happy. At least a fifth of his customers today have been with him for 25 years or longer. "Unless they move or pass away, or the economy hurts them, very rarely do our customers leave," he says. One customer, Jeff Baldwin, general manager of Suburban Chevrolet in Sandy, says he's had other people make bids to clean his windows. "I won't even listen to them," he says. "(Jim Vaughn's) word is his bond. He does what he says he's going to do."

The Vaughns plan to keep that same approach now that Brandon is on board, though with a bit more volume and significantly more technology. In the past year or so, Brandon has built a website and rebranded the company, including new graphics on their shirts and vans. He outfitted them with iPhones and iPads, fully synched with their schedules and accounting software. They are armed with carbon fiber window-washing poles and automatic water filtration systems. They've added gutter cleaning, roof treatment and pressure washing to their menu of services. "I love this kind of stuff," Brandon Vaughn says . "My dad passed on his entrepreneurial spirit to me."

Jim (left) and Brandon Vaughn help customer Geri Nevis enjoy a clear view from her rural home southeast of Gresham. Click to enlarge.

Trust matters - So far, it's working. Brandon Vaughn says sales have increased 30 percent over last year and 50 percent when comparing last month to February 2012. They employ two young men who also attend the Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall on Salquist Road where the Vaughns are active. Their customers range from residents of modest ranch houses, who pay about $100 per service, to mansion owners and big commercial building managers who can pay many times that sum to make their windows sparkle. Commercial businesses often schedule them for monthly cleans while most homeowners opt for twice-yearly service.

The Vaughns are expanding both the residential and commercial sides of their business. Most of their customers are in an area that includes Gresham, Sandy and east Portland, but they have some customers stretching from the Willamette River to Welches. Building a larger customer base is part of the family's succession plan, creating enough income to allow Jim Vaughn to work part-time and supplement retirement while helping to support Brandon Vaughn's and their employees' families.

The younger Vaughn says they don't want to expand All Clean so much that customers no longer recognize the person on the other side of the glass. "If we have enough (business) to take care of ourselves and our families, that's all we need," he says. "I think that's why our customers appreciate us." The level of familiarity and trust that the Vaughns have built with customers is much of the reason they are booking cleaning jobs well into 2014, they say. It's why Geri Nevis has kept them coming back to her home built on a hillside between Gresham and Boring for the past 35 years. Well, that and the fact that her back windows are more than two stories above the ground. "I'm not going to climb those heights," Nevis says, "and my (late) husband had no intention of doing them."