Invention repels laser attacks

By Jennifer Campbell – The Telegraph-Journal

Laser attacks on planes are a growing problem in Canada’s airspace.

In 2010, there were 182 confirmed cases of a laser being shone into the cockpit of an aircraft. In 2005, there were three incidents, 20 in 2007.

It’s a federal offence under the Aeronautics Act and comes with a $100,000 fine or imprisonment of up to five years – or both. However, even with all those incidents, only two people have actually been caught and convicted.

But a Fredericton engineering company thinks it has a solution to the problem. Lamda Guard Advance Systems Engineering has come up with a thin film that goes over the window in the cockpit of aircraft. It doesn’t block visibility at all, but it does block laser attacks and protects the pilot and therefore the passengers.

“Laser attacks are a big deal; they’re happening all over the world, and everyone is very concerned,” said George Palikaras, the engineering brains behind the operation. “We have a patent-pending solution. We’ve been developing a few prototypes.”

Palikaras said the working prototype they have still needs to be fine-tuned and there are a few more steps before they commercialize, but they expect to be able to do that “very soon.”

The company’s other product, which it proposed to the NBIF’s R3 innovation challenge, uses the same technology in a reverse process.

“The idea is to make LED lights brighter,” said Palikaras’ business partner, Paul McLaughlin.

The R3 innovation challenge is presented by the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, which issued a province-wide call for proposals from established businesses with revenues of less than $20 million who have an idea but don’t have the resources, expertise and facilities to take action on it.

The five finalists, Lamda among them, pitched last week to its selection committee, which will choose two winners to receive $50,000 worth of research and development services at a post-secondary institution or a research organization in New Brunswick. The innovator will own the intellectual property that emerges.

Lamda’s product uses nano-structured meta-material technology to develop a thin film that, when applied to lights, increases their brightness by 10 times.

“On the aviation side, we’re absorbing light. The opposite is what we do for the LED,” said Palikaras, who added that they use a nanotechnology dome to create a “nano-cavity” where the light is trapped and amplified 10 times and, at the right point, it gets released.

“The technology is a very simple device,” Palikaras said. “It’s just a thin film material that can trap, enhance and release the light.”

As Palikaras explained, they are trying to correct two major issues in the LED marketplace. “Although the LED market is growing nicely, the issue is the brightness of them. There are certain segments that can’t take advantage of the efficiency because the light isn’t bright enough. This will render them more efficient.”

McLaughlin, who is vice-president of the company, is the business mind in the equation, while Palikaras, the president and CEO, is the engineering brains. Greek by origin, he had been working in academia in Europe for 10 years, completing his studies and research. About three years ago, he started thinking of ideas he could commercialize.

“I started up Lamda Guard in England,” he explained. His wife is from Fredericton and wanted to move back to the Maritimes before starting their family, so Palikaras, on meeting McLaughlin, whose wife is a friend of his wife, brought him into the business.

At this point, Lamda is still an R&D company, but on the aviation idea they’re ahead of schedule, McLaughlin said.

“We’ve hit all our milestones and we’re working on colour issues,” he said. “We’re ahead of schedule on that product. What we will do this year is produce goggles, and people who handle lasers and laser testing can actually use our goggles. They will be transparent so you can see everything except for that laser light that is hazardous for the eyes.”

While the goggles will be useful to test the technology, eventually, they’ll want to create a film for the windows because Palikaras says pilots feel the goggles would be a nuisance.

The gentlemen say they have a good team – two MBAs and a couple of PhDs – with more than 70 years of combined experience. And, they say, they’ve found some very good support from the universities in New Brunswick.

“Some amazing research is done in the province,” Palikaras said. “I always say that the Canadians don’t like to brag but they do some amazing work. And it has be more recognized.”