I was reading an Osram patent and in the document, it was noted that the selective blue bands on some of its bulbs can improve peripheral vision.
https://patents.google.com/patent/US9396925B1/en
This all sounds very similar to many discussions on this board about how people perceive bluer light to be more glaring than yellower light at the same intensity. However, I don't recall seeing any discussion about the benefits of bluer light--just discussion about how bluer lights increase discomfort glare and is harder for the human visual system to process.
Now, I understand that just because something is patented doesn't make it a good idea. Nonetheless, I'm curious--is there any validity at all to Osram's claim that bluer light aids in peripheral vision?
The higher color temperature beam has the functional advantage of improved color contrast to aid obstacle detection and road surface orientation. The higher color temperature beam has the further functional advantage of higher effective intensity in peripheral vision, where the retina of the eye has proportionately more photoreceptors of the type that are rods than the type that are cones. Rods are more sensitive to blue light than the cones which are in the retina's central fovea region and are predominantly found in central vision, as discussed in Derlofske et al., "Visual Benefits of Blue Coated Lamps for Automotive Forward Lighting" (Society of Auto. Engineers 2003-01-0930). Higher color temperature light could, in theory, have an advantage in maintaining operator alertness at night. However, there is a tradeoff in that it is understood that while whiter light does not cause an increase in disability glare, there is an increase in perceived discomfort glare, as discussed in Sivak et al., "LED Headlamps: glare and color rendering", Lighting Res. The. 36,4 (2004) at pp. 295-305.
https://patents.google.com/patent/US9396925B1/en
This all sounds very similar to many discussions on this board about how people perceive bluer light to be more glaring than yellower light at the same intensity. However, I don't recall seeing any discussion about the benefits of bluer light--just discussion about how bluer lights increase discomfort glare and is harder for the human visual system to process.
Now, I understand that just because something is patented doesn't make it a good idea. Nonetheless, I'm curious--is there any validity at all to Osram's claim that bluer light aids in peripheral vision?