Apparently Nanotech Security Corp. (I last wrote about the company in a Jan. 31, 2014 posting) was selected to produce a high tech security component for the TED 2014 conference. From a Mar. 17, 2014 news item in the Wall Street Journal,
Nanotech Security Corp. (TSX-V: NTS) (OTCQX: NTSFF) is pleased to announce that it has been selected to design and produce an exclusive event access ID and branding solution for the TED2014 and TEDActive 2014 conferences. Nanotech’s next-generation KolourOptik(R) nanotechnology will be integrated as a security feature on each participant’s ID badge for both events.
The March 17, 2014 news item can also be found on TechVibes,
The public company’s KolourOptik nanotechnology will be integrated as a security feature on each participant’s ID badge for both events; the feature is a combination of TED’s iconic logo and ultra-high resolution lettering recognizing TED’s 30-year milestone delivering “Ideas Worth Spreading.”
KolourOptik technology produces intense optically variable images that can be applied to virtually any surface for anti-counterfeit and branding purposes. These fully customizable images result from billions of nano-scale surface holes per square centimeter which capture and reformulate light waves into brilliant colours without use of any pigment or dye. The commercial terms of the contract were not announced.
I think that in addition to the obvious branding aspect of this badge, there is the high tech nature of a nanotechnology-enabled security feature enhancing TED’s brand as a place where you’ll find new ideas and things. More than one fellow introduced a new piece of software or hardware today.
ETA March 24, 2014: There’s a bit more information about KolourOptik’s technology in a March 18, 2014 news article on securing.com,
The approach using an electron beam to drill holes smaller than the wavelength of light into a material so – when light catches the holes at the right angle – a bright, flickering image is revealed. The KolourOptik technology requires no pigment or dye, said the British Columbia-based company.
For TED, the security feature (pictured [on the securing.com site]) shows the organisation’s logo and high resolution (50,000 dpi) lettering “recognising TED’s 30-year milestone delivering ‘Ideas Worth Spreading’,” it added.
The article also notes the TED is the company’s first commercial client.