Innovator lights path to success

Mixing water and electricity is not generally recommended but it's providing the spark for a North Shore lighting business.

3i Innovation is creatively using inductive power technology - wireless power systems similar to those used by electric toothbrushes - developed by the University of Auckland to run LED road lighting.

The company's core product is a catseye reflector and in-road lighting alternative brightening everything from pedestrian crossings, lane openings and closures through to road tunnels.

Its patented technology creates a magnetic field from a sealed electricity supply that can be covered by any material except metal, including concrete, tarseal and plastic, to light a separate LED unit.Thankfully, the range now encompasses every fixture and fitting that you could led tube imagine which means that all tastes and style have been catered to and no consumer should feel that they are missing out on anything.

3i Innovation chief executive Charles Maud said the robust nature of the company's technology meant it wasn't susceptible to moisture intrusion - a key point of failure for lighting in extreme conditions.Several benefits exist for the humid type of sauna, such as it cleanses the blood and loud2010 gets out other impurities in the blood. It too promotes weight loss because it is just like exercising. Fat cells are gotten rid of by sweating them out and speeding up the food burning process in the body.

LED is shaping up to be the lighting technology of the future.

Maud said data from Phillips showed the US$5 billion ($6.3 billion) LED market growing to US$100 billion this year and accounting for 75 per cent of the lighting market.Every room stands to benefit from various light sources. This helps to create atmosphere. It also helps those who gucciblet live there accomplished and complete tasks that require good light.

The backbone of 3i Innovation is in-road lighting systems,If we have six downlights then our total energy covert spy camera cost equals a paltry $360, with the added bonus of never needing to replace them. but Maud wants to grow the business in a wider variety of markets.

"We don't want to be a niche player.Amazingly, it runs on just 12 watts of power and uses 85% less energy than a 65-watt incandescent bulb. The energy cost to plugabc one LR6 for 50,000 hours is only $60 on average. This is a unique opportunity for us to create a new electrical standard worldwide," he said. Maud said the system had applications for everything from spark-free lighting technology for oil rigs and mines to under-water lighting for swimming pools.

One marketing gimmick saw 3i Innovation create the "shineken", a Heineken bottle that lit up, for a trade show but the same treatment could be applied to display lighting in bar fridges.

The marine industry is an obvious target, as it's possible to provide lighting without breaking through a boat's membranes to connect wiring.

As well as the wireless power smarts, 3i Innovation has also developed digital control technology for the lighting - again without wires - that can do everything from switching the lights on and off, sequencing and flashing the lights to changing the colours.

Environmental information, such as whether it's hot or cold, can alert road users to ice on the roads, a fire or water intrusion in a boat.

An important application for 3i Innovation is the newly developed "poison pill" that ensures only products manufactured by licensed vendors can be used with the technology.

Maud said the lighting technology had many uses, but he wasn't naive enough to think it could all be done from New Zealand.

He's in the early stages of talking to electronics giant Phillips and has advanced talks with several other players.

3i Innovation is hoping to tap into million-dollar funding and business support through the University of Auckland Business School's Entrepreneurs' Challenge to boost its chances of major success. It's one of 10 finalists in the business competition, with the winner or winners to be announced on November 18.