Hi-tech security windows

Potential burglars will have less chance of breaking into buildings through hi-tech security windows developed by researchers in Germany.

The team from the

in Germany has developed a unique security system that enables window panes to detect movements with a special polymer coating.

The coating, developed at the Fraunhofer's Applied Polymer Research department in Potsdam-Golm, contains nanoparticles that convert light into fluorescent radiation.

A UV lamp illuminates the window panes and generates fluorescent radiation in the coating. This radiation is channelled to the edges of the window where it is detected by sensors. Several of these sensors are installed on four sides of the window frame.

The sensors, which are regular solar cells, convert photons from the UV lamp into current. When a person steps in front of the window, it prevents the light from reaching some of the sensors and therefore their current stops. The sensors wirelessly relay this currency information to a computer program, which alerts security officials of the potential intruder.