BLOS: the light that loves life
BLOS is the new LED optical system intended to illuminate spaces and paths in outdoor environments. It is biophilic because it ‘loves life’ (from βίος: life – φιλία: love) by offering the nocturnal environment safe and comfortable spaces for both people and other non-human life forms.
Outdoor lighting, particularly public street lighting, is generally designed and regulated based on the features of the user-motorist. BLOS is studied to be “the light that loves life” for the well-being of pedestrians, cyclists, animals and plants from light pollution. Preferring users who move on foot or by bicycle encourages slow mobility, which helps cities improve urban liveability and air quality.
However, the lighting that non-motorized users need substantially differs from that for motorists because there are different travel speeds, visibility needs and observation directions. The issue is not yet sufficiently investigated and regulated, and even the CIE 115:2010 standard Lighting of roads for motor and pedestrian traffic appears incomplete today and based on obsolete data.
The BLOS project has thus led to the acquisition by the Cariboni Group of new studies on the definition and measurement of glare in non-motorized users. The research was carried out in collaboration with the Polytechnic University of Turin – Energy Department under Prof. Anna Pellegrino’s scientific direction. Following an in-depth technical-scientific and regulatory study on outdoor lighting led to identifying criteria for evaluating the health, well-being and comfort of pedestrians and cyclists who travel through artificially lit outdoor environments at night. The results have made it possible to develop an innovative optical system capable of avoiding both debilitating glare and disturbing glare of those who move slowly.
Protecting biodiversity is instead a goal that stems from the awareness that the variability between living organisms is a source of food, energy and medicines for human beings. With the development of BLOS, Cariboni Group has integrated a new solution to its Eco-Centric Lighting1 offer that adds the control of the spatial distribution of light to the pre-existing solutions for modulating the spectral distribution and light intensity [DYNAMIC WHITE / BLUE FREE / VIRTUAL MIDNIGHT / MOTION DETECTION]. The new optical system prevents the dispersion of the luminous flux in any direction where light is not needed. It is an ideal solution for the creation of pollinate-friendly systems. It shows that shielding sources are more effective than low colour temperatures in mitigating the effects of artificial night light on insects2.
The lighting world should pay more attention to insect protection: 62% fewer pollinators visit plants in an artificially lit area than plants in a dark area, and daytime pollinators cannot compensate for the pollination deficit that occurs at night3. BLOS has declined in different asymmetrical and symmetrical distributions, of which each is available in BLACK, featured by a strong distribution and a dark-light, or WHITE effect that has a diffuse emission area and soft light.
1 caribonigroup.com/it/prodotti/temi/eco-centric-lighting
2 Owens et al., Current evidence in support of insect-friendly lighting practices,
Current Opinion in Insect Science, Volume 66, 2024.
3 Walton et al., Nocturnal pollinators strongly contribute to pollen transport of wildflowers in an agricultural landscape, Biol. Lett., 2020.
