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COLOR KINETICS REVOLUTIONARY LED-BASED INTELLIGENT LIGHTING TECHNOLOGY ADDED TO SMITHSONIAN COLLECTIONS
Chronicle of Company's Inventions and Colorful History Joins
National Research Collection on Information Technology & Society
BOSTON-August 1, 2001- Color Kinetics Incorporated, the pioneer of full spectrum digital lighting, today announces that its revolutionary intelligent LED (light emitting diode)-based lighting technology has been added to the permanent collections of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, Behring Center in Washington, D.C.
The donation includes the first prototypes of several different LED-based lighting fixtures that incorporate the company's patented Chromacore® digital lighting technology. In contrast to conventional lighting techniques, which require gels, dimmers and moving parts to produce color and colored lighting effects, Chromacore uses microprocessor-controlled multi-colored LEDs to generate millions of colors and a variety of dynamic lighting effects. Through the use of LEDs as an illumination source, Color Kinetics technology offers several benefits that go beyond those of traditional light sources, including an ultra-long source life, low power consumption, no UV (ultra-violet) emissions and extremely low heat output. Since being developed and introduced by Color Kinetics in 1997, this entirely new type of digital technology has been recognized by design professionals and industry experts alike as a revolutionary invention, both technically and aesthetically.
Also part of the Smithsonian donation is a detailed timeline of milestones in the company's colorful history. This document follows co-founders George Mueller and Dr. Ihor Lys from their days as engineering students at Carnegie Mellon University, where they conceived the idea for their innovative digital lighting method, through the first public showing of the technology when it captured one of the top product awards in the lighting industry, to the company as it stands today: 80 employees strong, with a growing intellectual property portfolio that includes U.S. and international filings encompassing a number of emerging digital technologies. This combination of revolutionary technology and a strong intellectual property portfolio has wide-ranging consumer, OEM and licensing opportunities. Just under four years old, Color Kinetics continues to earn numerous awards for its technology while building a strong following in the retail, architectural, entertainment, hospitality and design industries.
Color Kinetics co-founder, president and CEO George Mueller expressed the pride felt by the entire company on seeing its work become part of the Smithsonian collections. "I don't think there is an inventor or technology pioneer alive who hasn't imagined that their work would someday be part of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a great feeling and a landmark achievement for everyone associated with Color Kinetics to have our technology become part of this distinguished research collection," notes Mueller.
In addition to the prototypes and written materials, Color Kinetics also donated several actual production lighting fixtures to the Smithsonian collection, as well as examples of its award-winning marketing and branding materials. All of these pieces are now part of the Electricity Collections in the National Museum of American History.
About Color Kinetics
Color Kinetics Incorporated is the pioneer of intelligent solid-state illumination technologies. The company designs, manufactures and markets an award-winning line of products that apply the practical and aesthetic benefits of LEDs to transcend the limits of traditional light sources for use in professional, consumer, and OEM and licensing applications. Its flagship line of technologies leverage a patented layer of digital intelligence, called Chromacore®, to generate and control millions of colors and dynamic lighting effects. Color Kinetics leads the industry in solid-state lighting innovation, including the custom engineered Chromasic® microchip, and holds a growing patent portfolio encompassing a number of emerging digital technologies. Founded in 1997, the company is privately held and is headquartered in Boston, MA with offices in the UK, China, and a joint venture in Japan. More information can be found at http://www.colorkinetics.com.
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