CES Showstopper: Fujikom’s Z-Wave LED Light Bulbs with 20k Colors

For home automation buffs, one of the coolest products at CES 2012 is in the Z-Wave pavilion, where Fujikom is demonstrating multi-colored LED light bulbs with Z-Wave home automation technology built in – just screw them into standard light sockets, and control them with your iPad, PC or handheld remote.

Called LeDenQ, the Fujikom system makes all those Z-Wave door locks, thermostats, light switches, garage door openers and sensors seem like yawners.

A tiny RGB light, maybe one-inch squared and super-thin provides about 800 lumens of light, equivalent to a 100-watt incandescent bulb. The Z-Wave radio and Fujikom technology are built into the chassis. All you need, then, is some Fujikom software and a cheap Z-Wave adapter, and you can control each light individually (or in groups), including the brightness and the color – 20,000 colors, in fact.

Fujikom sales engineer Kevin Ann Kurek says it’s the only LED light with that color range.

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To demonstrate the technology at CES, Fujikom is using an image of a colorful urban skyline on a PC touchscreen. Press on the different lights – and different brightnesses – and the lights will mimic the scheme (photos and video below).

A number of different applications are available, but currently the company is not offering a software developer’s kit for third parties to create their own apps. They’re in it to make money on both the hardware and software.

Kurek says Fujikom can program the system to coordinate with music, proximate color schemes and other environmental characteristics.

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CES 2012 VIDEO: Fujikom demos LeDenQ LED lighting with RGB colors and Z-Wave technology built in.

The software enables control of 2,320 bulbs via PC, or 232 via tablet.

A nice amber color can be achieved that is “easy on the eyes” for everyday use, Kurek says. Specific colors also are available for optimizing plant growth.

Interestingly, Z-Wave technology does not have device definitions for RGB lights. In the Z-Wave pavilion Aaron Bergen, CEO of software developer MiOS, wondered aloud if Z-Wave would come out with color codes so the bulbs could be controlled by any Z-Wave device.

It is unclear how LeDenQ could be incorporated into third-party controllers.

Kurek says the pricing has not yet been announced, but Fujikom is hoping to come in at about $100 per bulb retail. The company plans to sell a kit with four bulbs and a four-button Z-Wave remote. Each button can be used to cycle through colors and adjust brightness by pressing, holding, double-tapping, etc.

The current bulbs are about the size of a standard CFL, but the company is developing a smaller unit that would be more suitable for can lighting.

The company is waiting for UL approval, expected in March, at which time the company will begin selling the products. Fujikom is seeking distributors.




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