From German speciality glass and lighting company Schott comes the Jade reading light, described as “the first-ever aviation light made from glass”, bringing haptic and optical aesthetics to aircraft seats.

Designed by PriestmanGoode, the innovation with an integrated ambient light halo features a pristine and sleek full glass cover that is said to be as intuitive to use as a smartphone.

Thanks to modern sensor technology, swiping allows passengers to adjust the light position and brightness to create their own illumination experience. Available in landscape and portrait format, the light can be printed with any decor for unlimited design options.

The light is PDR-ready and can be certified for all relevant aviation and OEM requirements. The Jade reading light is shortlisted for the Crystal Cabin Awards 2020 and will launch at the Aircraft Interiors Expo held in Hamburg, Germany from 31 March -2 April (Booth 7C11).

“After the launch of our Opal and Sapphire Reading Lights in 2019, Jade marks the third product in our Jewels in the Sky series. With our latest innovation, we are pushing the boundaries of modern aviation reading lights to take on a new level of design and functionality”, said Schott’s sales director of Aviation/Automotive, Philip Fischer.

“Our product offers benefits for airlines, seat manufacturers and passengers alike.”

Commenting on the new product, PriestmanGoode director Ben Rowan added: “Working alongside the experts at Schott, we were able to create the first touch-controlled screen reading light for the aviation market. Jade reflects a design language that passengers are familiar with, resulting in a product that is intuitive to use.

“It’s not just a beautiful design solution, it’s also a hyper-practical one: Jade has no moving parts, making it a much more reliable product for airlines and operators. It’s highly customisable, which means it brings an added opportunity for airlines to add a unique branded element in the cabin interiors.”

Unlimited design options for airlines and seat manufacturers

Superseding metal as the classical casing material, the homogeneous glass cover offers several advantages: the tempered safety glass is robust, scratch-resistant and shatterproof. The Jade reading light abandons technical components such as joints, arms and angles, relying instead on a smooth glass surface to impress with its elegant design.

Available in both landscape and portrait format, it resembles an artist’s canvas where design creativity is endless: from standard or metallic RAL colours to imitations of stone, fabric or ornaments, any customised decor can be printed, even 3D-effects can be added to the appearance. This enables designers to integrate the reading light into any overall seat or cabin design.

More safety, less maintenance and repair

The light is virtually unbreakable, meaning that user safety goes up and maintenance for the airline becomes close to obsolete. The monolithic glass surface replaces rotating and tilting parts; therefore, many of the traditional triggers for defects are simply no longer there.

This lowers maintenance efforts and reduces repairs by up to 90 per cent, leading to immense savings in time and money for the operator, according to Schott, which also notes that the new reading light is also extremely easy and effective to clean.

Since the lamps are not mechanically adjustable, there is no need to rotate and tilt them back to the ‘original position’ for the next boarding process.

Instead, the reading lights can be integrated into the cabin management system and thus, the lighting for boarding is electronically set back to the requirements defined by the airline. The ambient light can be linked to the general cabin lighting system and integrated into overall mood lighting scenarios.

Technological revolution

Jade is based on a clever combination of modern capacitive touch technology and Schott’s long-standing expertise in fiber optics and LED technology.

Instead of relying on bulky optical lenses for light transport, the product powers thin fiber-optic light guides with white LEDs. Thanks to the spatial separation of LED and light guides as well as the flexibility of fiber optics, Jade boasts a compact design of 0.5’’ installation depth, allowing for a strong integration into the seat and offering easy front installation and de-installation.

For more information visit schott.com.