Development & Testing

As the leader in innovative bird-friendly glass solutions, Arnold Glas pioneered the concept of a transparent bird-friendly glass starting in the late 1990’s with the Nature-Inspired idea of utilizing UV reflective patterns.

History

The development of ORNILUX is rooted in Biomimicry Design Theory. “Biomimicry is an innovation method that seeks sustainable solutions by emulating nature’s time-tested patterns and strategies…The goal is to create products, processes, and policies—new ways of living—that are well-adapted to life on earth over the long haul.” - Biomimicry 3.8.

The Inspiration

The inspiration for ORNILUX glass came from connecting the knowledge that birds see light in the UV spectrum, and a theory of how spiders might use UV reflective strands of silk in their webs. The proposal that became the the moment of insight was that birds, sharing the same space as spiders, would see the web because of the UV reflecting strands and thus be able to avoid a collision. Advantage spider: preserving the spider’s ability to capture prey.

Development

Given that the human eye does not perceive UV light, the challenge for Arnold Glas became to develop a patterned, UV reflective, transparent glass that works on the same principle as a spider’s web. This would offer a unique and innovative solution to the prevention of bird window collisions; balancing visibility to birds and transparency to us.

Research & Testing

Testing for ORNILUX is conducted during each Spring and Fall migration period in cooperation with American Bird Conservancy at flight tunnel facilities located in New York and Pennsylvania. Concurrent tests are conducted in partnership with Ornithologists at a flight tunnel located in Rybachy, Russia. Because of its controlled environment, repeatability, and valid sample size, the flight tunnel test protocol is critical to the development and comparability of bird-friendly glass treatments. This method is the industry standard and the basis for LEED Pilot Credit 55: Bird Collision Deterrence. Importantly, birds are not injured in the test process.

The Method

Birds are released inside a dark 30’ flight tunnel with a side-by-side, clear-glass (invisible to birds) control pane and a test pane at the far end. Birds are attracted to light and try to fly out through one of the pieces of glass; a net keeps them from actually hitting the glass and injury. The ‘tunnel score’ is the percentage of birds tested that avoid the patterned glass and fly towards the clear glass. At least 80 bird flights are tested per unit. Please see the ORNILUX Product Brochure for tested configurations and corresponding scores. To learn more about the flight tunnel test, check out the video on this page or read about it at American Bird Conservancy's website. Link here for a May 2014 New York Times article.

Continued Development

It is the goal of Arnold Glas to provide the highest performing bird-friendly glass, balancing visibility to birds, transparency to the human eye and energy efficiency. Ongoing testing and development of ORNILUX is a high priority and is inclusive of new materials, patterns, configurations and technologies.

American Bird Conservancy tested this product in a tunnel test and found that it satisfied ABC’s criterion for bird-friendly glass, where a minimum of 70% of birds avoided the product and flew towards the control pane. See product brochure for additional information and actual test scores.