At the international trade fair R+T 2024 in Stuttgart, a jury of leading European experts awarded a patented window shading system developed by Professor Miroslav Vořechovský from the Institute of Building Mechanics FAST BUT.  

The prestigious award in the field of shading technology for the ZOOMTECH^® technology of the Czech family-owned company Bematech is the result of several years of work by scientists, designers and technicians and many cycles of verification experiments. The combination of minimalist design, innovative mechanical components, a new production machine and advanced software solutions has created a revolutionary system of large-format roller blinds for indoors and outdoors or for projection screens. The extremely slender tube on which the fabric is wound is also perfectly straight. With conventional roller blinds, the thickness of a five-metre roller blind is around 15 cm, with the new solution it is just 5 cm. Moreover, the tube does not bend, the fabric does not deform and does not create an undesirable V-effect. 

Calculations and practical solutions as research objectives 

Professor Vořechovský coordinated the entire research part of the project, including the strategy. He and his team developed a computer model of the roller blind to design the optimal shape of the hidden reinforcement that compensates for gravitational forces and cancels unwanted deflection of the blind. At the same time, it balances the load on the bearings around which the winding tube rotates. "The highly non-linear action of the bearings and the fact that the brace can only be supported on one side due to the presence of the motor make the optimisation task of finding a complex brace shape extremely difficult," explains Professor Vorechovsky. Each roller blind has a different reinforcement, the shape of which depends on the dimensions of the blind, the fabric chosen and other individual parameters.

Another research goal in the field of mechanics was to develop a methodology and subsequently a machine to produce reinforcements with such a precise shape. "This is not simply a matter of bending, but it was necessary to ensure that the reinforcement would provide supporting forces without unwanted relaxation and plastic deformation during the action in the shutter," adds Vořechovský, describing the process. The result is a uniquely designed ZoomBox machine that automatically produces the desired reinforcement by controlling it using feedback from sensors.  

The delivered solution is complete: the calculated optimised shape is also supplemented by the software with the data required for production in the machine, depending on the selected reinforcement material. These machines are already being used to produce reinforcements in many countries in Europe and beyond, so that finished products do not have to be transported and manufacturers can use local materials to produce roller shutters with ZOOMTECH^® technology. The developed software runs on local servers around the clock. 

Artificial intelligence optimizes production processes 

The research team was also responsible for "little things" such as the OptiSol configurator for selecting fabric material or creating 3D visualizations for future customers. It uses artificial intelligence and machine learning features and is part of a comprehensive system together with the configurator for the final form of the blind. The configurator thus not only serves to visualize the product attractively for customers, but also collects important data that helps to optimize the production process. The information from the configurator helps to set up a production machine that precisely defines the bending of the reinforcements for the specific parameters of the tube. "The data set for the newly developed software also includes energy values and other fabric parameters or climate specifics for the application sites. The algorithm can use artificial intelligence to recommend the type of fabric and the associated winding mechanism parameters," adds Professor Vořechovský.  Other benefits for the production process are the software's ability to take into account the impact of a specific fabric on energy savings, the ability to reduce bacterial and viral flows or the design of relevant structural elements. 

The correct and error-free functioning of the entire system was preceded by painstaking work with databases. Each of the roughly 500 types of substances had to be tested, hung on different types of rods, measured, evaluated and its properties stored in a database. The same process took place with structural elements and components: winding tubes made of steel, plastic, aluminium or carbon fibre were measured, tested, combined with bearings, control chains, motors and mobile phone applications.  

Science and business in one team 

"We had no doubt that the result would be good, we had a good strategy and a clear plan. But the collaboration with Professor Vorechovsky and his team exceeded the planned goal professionally and humanly. We wanted an aesthetically and functionally high quality solution that would meet the demands of architects and clients, and we have the perfect product that sets a whole new standard in the industry," summarizes Bernard Mullie, the owner of the company. Previous solutions involved a lot of manual work to select a particular fabric and test its suitability in terms of weight, strain rate or volume after winding. Large-format roller blinds often sagged, did not stay perfectly straight and had to be split into several smaller ones. However, at the R+T 2024 in Stuttgart, visitors admired the slim roller blinds with spans of more than 8 m and the technology on show attracted particular interest. The outstanding award is all the more significant because the fair was held for the first time in six years due to the covid and the competition for innovations was considerable.  

"The research and development behind translating our original idea into actual practice would not have been possible without academics with deep theoretical knowledge. The applied research project that brought us together with Professor Vořechovský is an exemplary example of how experts from universities can apply their knowledge and help a smaller family-owned company to deliver a real industrial innovation that will put the company at the top of the market," Mullie evaluates the joint project. 

In this case, the collaboration between academia and application does not only mean a new patented technology and a successfully completed project, but also new opportunities for the development of the entire industry. In the future, for example, it will be possible to use materials for the production of roller blinds that were not even considered before.  

The project was supported by the Operational Programme Enterprise and Innovation for Competitiveness, Applications Programme.