Color Kinetics Incorporated,
a leading innovator of LED lighting systems and technologies, today announced
its largest networked lighting system to date: an 11,700 square foot video screen
that wraps around Aspire Tower, the tallest building in Doha, Qatar. The project
was completed in December as the focal point for broadcast coverage of the 2006
Asian Games in Doha.
The installation marks the latest in a growing number of large-scale, lower-resolution
video displays that are being erected as a cost-effective alternative to conventional
high-resolution LED screens. Color Kinetics' flexible, durable systems can enable
such displays on almost any interior or exterior surface, including facades,
ceilings, floors, and even rooftops and sculptures - placing video where it
was previously cost prohibitive or impractical.
The 1,000 foot tower's facade is covered in wire mesh. Approximately 156,500
nodes of iColor(R) Flex SL were woven through the material to form a massive
cylindrical video screen that's divided into three low-resolution and three
higher-resolution segments. Each node acts as an individually programmable pixel
by incorporating Color Kinetics' custom engineered Chromasic(R) microchip. Live
coverage of the Asian Games was fed directly to the nodes via Video System Manager.
"We've proven that LEDs are an ideal source for many illumination applications,
and now we're increasingly targeting low-resolution video as well, based largely
on the strength of our intelligent control technology. With our Chromasic chip
inside each self-contained LED node, we can produce video grids in virtually
any form, including the transparent grid as installed on Aspire Tower - which
wouldn't have been possible just a few years ago," said Bill Sims, President
and CEO, Color Kinetics. "On top of the digital intelligence, we can create
very durable displays that are able to withstand harsh climates and vibration
without the bulk and weight of typical high- resolution LED screens."
"We're pleased to name Aspire Tower among our global collection of landmark
projects," said Sims.
Although its exterior is complete, the tower's interior space is set to open
in August 2007, comprising a luxury hotel, rotating restaurant and sports museum,
among other amenities.