The Roosegaarde Studio has built a far-UVC light that can be installed in open spaces, allowing people to meet with less fear of contracting Covid-19.
urban sun, this is the name of the project presented yesterday in Rotterdam, was created to sanitize any surface it comes into contact with in open spaces. It makes sure that the coronavirus is not able to spread there. As? Through a specific type of ultraviolet light (far-UVC) with a wavelength that kills viruses but is safe for humans and animals it comes into contact with.
Clearly, and it is worth specifying, the power to sanitize spaces depends on many factors: height, irradiated point, meteorological factors: it is necessary to test and develop a solution of this kind well, which at the moment is to be understood as speculative, and does not offer a solution already ready but an inspiration, a direction in which to proceed.
An urban sun for open spaces
The founder of the studio, Daan Roosegaarde, thinks that this solution could make meetings in open spaces possible again since Covid became a pandemic. “We can make open spaces 99,9% virus-free in a few minutes: the chance of getting sick or infecting each other is greatly reduced,” she said.
Although Urban Sun does not cure people with the virus, nor prevent people from contracting the virus in the future, it can provide safety in typically busy places such as train stations, schools, and public squares.
Urban Sun works when placed high, just like a mini sun. From there it can shine a large circle of sanitizing light onto a space below. “The goal is not to say we don't need vaccines or masks,” Roosegaarde said. “Urban Sun does not cure coronavirus, but makes social gatherings in open spaces safer.”
How Urban Sun is made
The Urban Sun design was developed in collaboration with scientists and researchers from the United States, Japan, Italy and the Netherlands. It is based on research published in 2018 by Columbia University and Hiroshima University. Research shows that while traditional 254nm UV light is harmful to humans, Far-UVC light with a wavelength of 222 nanometers is safe. And both are fatal to viruses.
The technology is already being developed for use in indoor spaces. Boeing is looking to integrate it into its airplanes to enable safer air travel. Roosegaarde will be the first to test it in open spaces: he hopes to take Urban Sun to large-scale events such as the Olympic Games. On balance, however, this "Urban Sun" could be used to create safer open and gathering spaces during fairs and festivals (I'm thinking of the Salone del Mobile in Milan, or the Turin Book Fair).
The prototype was shown in London's Somerset House.
