Abstract
Light and lighting is an important factor in our built environment. Besides the visual impacts of light, healthy light design focuses on the non-visual effects of light. For millions of years humans have evolved with the natural day and night cycle. Our internal clock, which is known as circadian rhythm relies on the dynamic nature of daylight to be synchronized with our external environment. Urbanization has altered this natural pattern at the cost of compromising human well-being. In recent years, wearables have provided us with an understanding of personal light exposure in our built environment. These devices can aid us in making design decisions that promote human health. This master’s thesis is divided into two sections, the first part is dedicated to the product development of SyncMe, a wearable multi-spectral spectrometer. In this section the device is calibrated, and its accuracy is evaluated against a commercial spectrometer. By conducting several pilot experiments in laboratory and an actual office space it is decided whether SyncMe can capture dynamic light exposure at a personal level. Wearability is another highlight in this section, where proximity to eye-level is considered important, SyncMe undergoes several developments to ensure individual’s comfort. In the second part, a 4-day experiment with two participants is conducted to study the relation between spectral power distribution (SPD) in two opposite seating positions, one facing the window and the other facing the wall. At the end of this section, it is concluded whether a general pattern can be detected from the data logging sessions in the office space. The results from this master’s thesis show that SyncMe, the introduced wearable device can produce comparable data and it is capable of detecting changes in the light exposure pattern.