Kickstarter

Creator Jamie on April 29

@Variabletech, time for an update please.

Creator calvinbean on March 24

Still waiting for my Node + Chroma & BT dongle.

Creator Conrad Cone on March 4

3rd message now and no response from you. Where is my Chroma?

Creator Conrad Cone on March 1

Still waiting for my chroma. What's the status?!

Creator Jamie on February 22

@Variabletech Can you please make an announcement when those of us who want to add in additional items via your normal purchase through your store so that they are shipped together with the KS item should do so.

Creator Kevin McKenzie on February 21

Responded, and accepted the delay. Should I wait some more on ordering other sensor modules?

Creator Cam MacDuff on February 17

@George. I've noticed some little hairline cracks around the case of my Node, specifically on the edge that butts up to the illuminated LED light. Something to be concerned about? Case replaceable? My Node certainly hasn't had any rough handling.

Creator Ted Kenneth Johansen on February 11

Hi George,

I have not yet received my Chroma + Node yet. I sent you an e-mail two weeks ago, and posted two comments during these last two weeks without any replies What's going on?

Creator Joey Pang on February 6

Dear George

Any idea when is my node and chroma shipping?

Creator M Straaten on January 31

Dear George, received the chroma today, thanks. I updated the firmware on both Nodes. That works. When I have the chroma attached the node does not recognise the module on the other end of the node and the chroma is not working at all??? Under the Chroma app the button which looks like you press when you want it to scan is a spinning wheel and never stops.

Creator Cam MacDuff on January 23

@George. Seems to have worked George. Thanks!

Creator Rolf-Dieter Klein on January 17

It really works great - but currently I dont see the CMYK readings - any plans to update the App for this.
I also ordered some other sensors which should be on the way - its a really nice device.

Creator Cam MacDuff on January 16

@George Received my node chroma thanks, but it doesn't appear to be working.
I've updated my firmware and have the latest version of the app, but when I plug it in and scroll to the Chroma tab in the app, the scan buttons are just greyed out.
Any ideas?

Creator Jason Pandazoglous on January 5

Hey George
I am in Australia and have pledged max/full amount and paid for Chroma and still not received it??
Is there any way someone could get back to me on it's delivery progress please??
Thanks
Jay

Creator Kevin McKenzie on January 3

Hi, George. If we're interested in getting other sensor modules, when should we order, so they can ship out with the NODE Chroma? Should we wait until you've sent out the surveys, or before, so there's time for assembly?

Creator J.G. on January 2

I think my Chroma sensor is defective. It doesn't give any readings at all and the lights don't light up. I tried it on both ends of my Node, but there's no change.

Creator Crystalfontz America, Inc. on January 2

I am running iOS 5. Is there an app that will work under iOS 5?

Creator Rolf-Dieter Klein on December 5

Perfect just pledged the max level. Hope to get some more sensors later on for this great platform.

Creator Jason Pandazoglous on November 29

Hey George
Can't wait to get my hands on it. Can you provide me with an API please,?
Also are they looking at still being dispatched in December???
Regards
Jay

Creator Gabriele Guidoni on November 25

Thanks for the prompt answer! Last things..I have read on the NODE site that the OXA sensor has an operating life of 24 months. Is there a reason? What other gasses will detect beside CO? The Clima module will be updated for windspeed or there will be a windspeed standalone sensor? Thanks again for your patience and sorry for the OT.

Creator Gabriele Guidoni on November 25

Since I missed your first awesome project I am wondering if there is any chance to have the entire platform. Have you think to add another pledge which include node kore + all modules at an affordable price?
Thanks

Creator Charles Alvis on November 18, 2012

Just curious, will 3rd party manufactures be able to develop sensors for NODE in the future?

Creator Taylor on November 12, 2012

might be impossible, but could there be anyway I could just pick up chroma a few blocks from you guys, being just a few blocks away. Being I live in Chattanooga as well. Heck I would love 15 mins to even hear everything your doing with the node.

Creator Dragonbait on November 11, 2012

This could be a great gadget. I've backed to get one for my better half. She works in Marketing and it could be an awesome tool for her to check that printers have printed the correct colors, my only worry is whether it will be accurate enough!

Creator James Bailey on November 9, 2012

Awesome! Don't forget Cyan ;)

Creator Andrew T on November 8, 2012

Thanks again for your comments again, James.

The LEDs we are using shine at 6500K color temperature (measured with a laboratory grade spectrophotometer), but as you noted, their SPD isn't even. As we are using a color sensor with good low light intensity resolution, this is currently giving us fairly accurate results right now (as quoted in our specification) for colors across the MacBeth colorchecker that you referred to below (we have prototype Chromas right now, which we have been testing - such as the ones you see in the Kickstarter video).

To your point, we are testing the spectral response of our illuminants and paying close attention to the SPD to ensure that the LEDs sample the human visible range. We certainly appreciate your ideas and feedback about how to ensure that the illuminant's spectrum response is even - and as noted before - we are looking into your suggestion about boosting the red part of the spectrum. Thanks again!

Creator James Bailey on November 7, 2012

Hi Andrew, and thanks for the reply.

While I'm glad you have a firm grasp of much of the issue, some of the information is not correct.

Changing the colour temperature of the LEDs changes the proportion of red in the phosphor, but NOT the colour of red it is, so it does almost nothing to improve the accuracy (and also can increase the problems around cyan by reducing output there). If I had an LED whose colour response consisted of "orange green blue" it would appear perfectly white to the human eye, but as soon as I shine it at an object both the eye and a camera would notice really weird colour shifts - and increasing the amount of orange in that mix wouldn't fix it. In theory, a red Ferrari would appear black under such a light, even though the light appeared to be balanced white.

However primary colour LEDs do not have this limitation, because they avoid the phosphor problem entirely. So a simple way to modify your design would be to have a single accurate monochrome sensor, and then switch on the ring of different coloured LEDs (can be a whole rainbow) sequentially to perform the filter instead of using filters (like Canon LIDE scanners). This would have the added advantage of being cheap and not needing periodic recalibration (shifts otherwise occur due to change in the coloured sensor filters over time - primary LEDs don't shift colour, and changes to the monochrome sensor would only affect intensity, affecting all colours equally).

The argument that we all have phosphor (LED/Fluro) based technology is flawed also. I personally have a R-G-B primary colour LED monitor with no such limitations, and before that had monitors with added output in the trouble areas that also avoided the problem. With OLED just on the horizon, and many colour critical people (the kind interested in your sensor) maintaining CRTs or printing the output on calibrated devices, I assure you that many people buying your product will notice the colour shifts. Even people with conventional technology in their monitors, unless it carefully reproduces the limitations of your illumination setup, it is just as likely to magnify the inaccuracies rather than obscure them. You can see the typical amount of shift on any given monitor by clicking this image: http://www.screenlightandgrip.com/images/generators/LED_Macbeth_Tungsten-WhPhos.jpg

If you go the primary LED or black body radiator way, it will be cheap, permanently calibrated and very accurate. If you insist on using "warm coloured LEDs" then you will be little more accurate than an iPhone with the colour temperature locked down and the colorID app.

I'm trying to dig up some excellent articles on the subject for you, but haven't yet found the ones I'm looking for. This thread does a pretty good job:
http://www.cinematography.com/index.php…

Look forward to anything you can do to bring about a more colour accurate world!

Creator Andrew T on November 7, 2012

Hello James,
I'm one of the engineers working at Variable Technologies on the Chroma product. Thanks so much for the comment, we greatly appreciate your feedback and the chance to work with our backers!

Regarding your concern for measuring under sunlight, LEDs are provided in varying colors and color temperatures of "white", so not all white LEDs are created equally. The illuminant we are using is the color referenced as the CIE (International Commission on Illumination) standard reference illuminant for sunlight, D65, so measuring and matching colors under sunlight will be accurate with Chroma.

Regarding our choice of illuminant, the standard reference illuminants, (D50 & D65) are used as a reference for the numerical representation of colors for graphic art, design, and is the standard backlighting target for LCD monitors, so this is the representation that one would find in Adobe Photoshop or in the Pantone Color Manager. When a designer goes into Adobe to set their color profiles, their choices are color standards that use D65, monitor profile (D65), etc. The numeric representations used (CIE XYZ, CIELAB, chromaticity, etc) are, by nature, metameric and represent a color under a specific light (CIE standard illuminant).

Since these color matching systems and software programs provide color information under the CIE daylight illuminant reference, we chose for Chroma to use the same system for detecting color information.

The best way to avoid this situation is to avoid the problem you mentioned with non-daylight illuminants and get a spectral response for color measurements, but these devices generally cost thousands to tens of thousands of dollars. We do like your idea of adding differing illuminants to counter this for a specific set of lighting conditions, and as it is easy for us to change LEDs for our final product, so thanks to your feedback, this is under consideration. If you have any further ideas, please don't hesitate to email us at dev@variabletech.com.

Regards,
-Andrew

Creator James Bailey on November 7, 2012

This seems like it could be very useful, but for me I know it can't be accurate enough to reproduce colours as you see them under sunlight. Metamerism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metamerism_(color)) causes colours to look very different under different light sources, such as sunlight to fluorescent or LED. It's a big issue in the cinematographic and art display worlds, and causes most people to cling to their halogen lights and gels for colour sensitive work.

Ever wonder why you look so bloodless under white LEDs (even ones that aren't too blue) - this is because LEDs only have very 'orange-y' reds and not the deep reds that blood reflects, so it makes us look too green and can't be counteracted with filters.

If you do insist on not having a black body radiator (ie: halogen) to your project for longevity / efficiency reasons, at least consider adding specific deep red and cyan LEDs to the mix to counter the effects of the reduced spectrum. Remember you can not correct for it in software later, because if you turn up the reds enough during calibration to make a human look correct, then a red apple will look like an overly vibrant orange, so you set the colour orange to be more red and lose any accuracy in that range, etc. There are also problems with the colours around cyan.

Please feel free to message me if I can be of assistance. By carefully tuning the filters in front of your sensors you can sidestep the biggest hurdles.

Creator Charles Alvis on November 5, 2012

George, what sensor are you using and does it require re calibration after a certain period of time?

Creator Vanes on November 5, 2012

Great addition to the NODE platform,shut up and take my money!!!

Creator David Gaipa on November 5, 2012

I love that this is already expanding to new sensors. I look forward to adding this (and eventualy the rad sensor from the first kickstarter) to my NODE.