News

Canadian technology firm leads the way with unique colour changing technology

TORONTO, Ontario, Dec. 3, 2020 – Opalux is a pioneering smart materials company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Co-founded by the award-winning Dr. Andre Arsenault in 2006, the technologies developed by Opalux grew out of his studies and doctorate thesis at the University of Toronto. Opalux is a market-leading innovator in stimulus-responsive, colour-changing materials and coatings and is now developing Chameleonix™ for a wide range of markets, from Mobile Devices and Wearables to Automotive and Interior Design.

Chameleonix™ is providing the next level of custom aesthetics. This colour-changing technology is enabled as a thin film device that can be applied to most surfaces and is controlled with a tiny electric current that will change the colour from violet to red and anything in between. This technology will let you wirelessly control the colour of almost any object you want.

Chameleonix™ is very versatile and can be used for a number of different customization options. For example, Chameleonix™can be an effective communication tool for lifestyle and health, or as a customized colour interior that can be changed to match the consumers mood and style. Imagine being able to change the colour of your car, walls, shoes as often as you like. Chameleonix™ provides a level of consumer customization never seen before.

For consumers it’s all about customization, they are no longer satisfied with simply settling with ‘close enough’. In a 2019 study Deloitte uncovered some interesting facts about the changing face of the consumer. For example, on average 36% of consumers expressed an interest in purchasing personalized products or services. With Chameleonix™ they can customize their products whenever they want, every single day.

Allan Firhoj, Opalux’s CEO, describes the Opalux vision, “Opalux is about creating smart materials and smart colour. We see Chameleonix™ as an opportunity to enable a new way for consumers to interact with brand in a meaningful way. Consumers can turn their favourite logos into notification tools on their devices, in an aesthetically pleasing way, or turn them into symbols to showcase style and performance.”

The brilliance of the technology is the device changes colour without need for illumination, no lightbulbs required and extremely low-power usage. This is great for battery-powered products on the go, and for the new generation of electric vehicles and energy efficient homes. Chameleonix™ is also extremely thin, lightweight and flexible allowing it to be seamlessly integrated on a wide range of products and surfaces.

Dr. Andre Arsenault, Founder, and CTO explains, “Chameleonix™ is the only product on the market or  being developed that has the breadth of colour while using super low power, making it ideal for products on the go. The device can be wirelessly controlled to fit into our modern world providing consumers the ability to change the colour of just about anything, with a touch, with an app, with a dial.”

Allan Firhoj explained the momentum behind the launch of Chameleonix™, “When we explain that you can wrap just about anything, any curved surface, any flat surface, you can grow this scale this, peoples’ imaginations grow and we hear about new applications that we had never thought of before. I believe we are just getting started.”

You can see a demo of the technology here in one of a series of videos Opalux is launching as part of our global awareness campaign: https://opalux.com/chameleonix-for-brands/

For all media enquiries please contact:
Allan Firhøj,
President and CEO | Opalux Inc.
allan.firhoj@opalux.com
www.opalux.com

About Opalux

Since 2006, Opalux has aimed to transform the way the world uses colour. It has created a platform of innovative, stimulus-responsive coatings that change colour to convey information. Opalux has used this technology to become a global leader in advanced anti-counterfeiting security features, establishing key partnerships with global security printers to develop transformative products for passports, ID cards and banknotes.

Building off of their success in the Security Printing market, Opalux is now accelerating the development of its electrically colour-changing material, Chameleonix™. Customizable in shape and size, Opalux is commercializing Chameleonix™ for a wide range of applications, from smartphone and apparel to architectural décor.

Dr. André Arsenault
CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER, DIRECTOR

Dr. André Arsenault is a co-founder of Opalux and leads new and existing product development.  Under André’s leadership, Opalux has developed a range of security features and has authored over 15 granted and pending patent families. He earned his Ph.D. Degree in polymer and materials chemistry at the University of Toronto.  His doctoral dissertation was on tunable photonic crystal materials, the basis of Opalux’s products.  Additionally, he co-authored Nanochemistry: A Chemical Approach to Nanomaterials. André is the author of numerous articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals and was awarded first prize in NSERC’s Innovation Challenge Award.

Allan Firhøj
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, DIRECTOR

Allan has over 25 years of experience and has a consistent track record of delivering record growth and profitability by building engaging individuals and teams within company start-ups, companies reigniting growth, mergers, and divestitures. With a deep understanding of critical business drivers in multiple markets and industries, he has been successful in building relationships in high-tech products and services markets with multi-nationals: winning major contracts, integrating market leading products, sales strategies, and marketing.