Discomfort glare is always accompanied by a strong contraction or spasm in the muscles surrounding the eye. A portable device for measuring the electrical activity generated by this muscle spasm is described. The device samples the signal from electrodes placed around the eye. It is composed of a narrow-band amplifier/transmitter, a receiver/frequency converter and a tone generator. The signal amplitude is proportional to the vertical illuminance at the eye and can therefore be used as an objective index of the discomfort induced. The results compare favourably with subjective assessment.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Petherbridge P, Hopkinson R.Discomfort glare and the lighting of buildings. Trans. Illumin. Eng. Soc. (London)1950; 15: 39-44.
2.
Guth S.A method for the evaluation of discomfort glare. Illumin. Eng. 1963; 58: 351-351.
3.
Rubiño M, Cruz A, Garcia J, Hita E.Discomfort glare indices: a comparative study. Applied Optics1994; 33: 8001-8008.
4.
Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers C. The calculation of glare indices; 1985. Technical memorandum: 10.
5.
Commission Internationale de l’ Eclairage C. Discomfort Glare in Interior Lighting; 1995. CIE Publication: 117.
6.
Hopkinson R.Glare discomfort and pupil diameter. J. Optical Soc. Am. 1956; 46: 649-656.
7.
Fugate J, Fry G.Relation of changes in pupil size to visual discomfort. J. Illumin. Eng. Soc. 1956; 51: 537-549.
8.
Fry G, King V.The pupillary response and discomfort glare. J. Illumin. Eng. Soc. 1975; 4: 307-324.
9.
Howarth P, Heron G, Greenhouse D, Bailey I, Berman S.Discomfort from glare: the role of pupillary hippus. Lighting Res. Technol. 1993; 25: 37-42.
10.
Berman S, Bullimore M, Jacobs R, Bailey I, Gandhi N.An objective measure of discomfort glare. J. Illumin. Eng. Soc. 1994; 23: 40-49.
11.
Berman S, Bullimore M, Bailey I, Jacobs R.The influence of spectral composition on discomfort glare for large-size sources. J. Illumin. Eng. Soc. 1996; 25: 34-41.
12.
Murray IJ.Zhang T, Carden D.Objective assessment of discomfort glare. ILE Proceedings, Edinburgh, 1998.
13.
Murray IJ.Objective measurement of discomfort glare: UK Transport Research Laboratory; 1999. Report No: 13740.
14.
Ahmed I, Bennett C.Discomfort glare: duration-intensity relationship. J. Illumin. Eng. Soc. 1978; 7: 36-39.
15.
Schmidt-Clausen H, Bindels J.Assessment of discomfort glare in motor vehicle lighting. Lighting Res. Technol. 1974; 6: 79-88.
16.
Sivak M, Simmons C, Flannagan M.Effect of headlamp area on discomfort glare. Lighting Res. Technol. 1990; 22: 49-52.
17.
Charman W.Vision and driving - a literature review and commentary. Ophthalmic Physiol. Optics1997; 17: 371-391.
18.
Ngai P, Boyce P.The effect of overhead glare on visual discomfort. J. Illumin. Eng. Soc. 2000; 29: 29-35.
19.
Evinger C, Manning K, Sibony P.Eyelid movements: mechanisms and normal data. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 1991; 32: 387-400.
