Thursday, 15 March 2001
Color Kinetics has been awarded US Patent 6,166,496 for a method of augmenting a full variety of digital content - including video games, music, movies and even information - with the company's digital lighting technology. This third patent for the company covers systems and methods of combining and decoding lighting control information with an entertainment signal, so that video games, music, movies, and Internet content can directly drive full spectrum digital lighting to enhance that content. The result is a fully immersive experience where light - in an infinite variety of colours and intensities - interacts with sound, video or information to extend the entertainment experience beyond a television, movie screen, computer monitor or speaker system. Color Kinetics is branding this technology combination ‘Surround Light’. Potential applications cited by the company include the addition of a "light track" to a movie which enhances the mood of the movie and provides an immersive accompaniment to the action, from fiery explosions to sunsets.