Laser safety goggles are required for all environments where persons come into contact with laser beams which -in layman’s terms- have power levels in excess of what can be found in a regular laser pointer. These power levels occur in virtually all laser systems employed in skin treatment or industrial material processing. To protect the eyes from hazardous radiation, persons working with the lasers or who are located close to the laser sources are required to wear safety goggles. Very high powered lasers are able to damage the human skin, however damage to the human eye can already occur at relatively low power levels. For example, even diffuse reflections on surfaces can be hazardous to the human eyes.
Laser safety goggles protect the eyes by changing the light spectrum using optical filters, such that the the hazardous wavelengths of the laser source are blocked. This means that filter-based laser safety goggles can be employed for specific wavelengths only, and therefore need to be selected to fit the laser sources which they should protect against. If the case arises where hazardous laser sources are present throughout the optical spectrum, the laser safety goggles would need to filter out light of all wavelengths, and would therefore be opaque and useless.
Digital technology can solve this issue: Our approach towards laser safety goggles employs a completely opaque casing, which still permits the user to look through it! This is achieved by recording the environment using a digital video camera and projecting the images onto a display inside the digital laser safety goggles. This means that the device protects against laser radiation at all wavelengths. This virtual see-through functionality is calibrated such that most users can still perform manual labor at a sufficient level. The digital technology also enables further functionalities in addition to the see-through, such as displaying three-dimensional content or augmented and virtual reality applications. Therefore, digital laser safety goggles can be adapted to provide more effective workflows in special applications. Some application areas are highlighted on this website, but maybe you are thinking of something else? Please contact us, we are happy to customize solutions upon request.
