SATELLITE BEACH, Fla. — When the New Year's ball drops in Times Square at midnight, millions of people will have their eyes trained on the work of one of Central Florida's fastest growing businesses. It's the lighting system in the ball that was designed by the Lighting Science Group based in Satellite Beach.
It's their handiwork that will be the focal point once again as the country rings in the New Year.
The ball is renowned for its Waterford crystal exterior, but the company put together the LED modules underneath the crystal that will allow the ball to sparkle. The Times Square ball is in place Thursday, overlooking the crossroads of America in New York City.
Underneath the custom-made Waterford crystal are 32,000 light-emitting diodes. Diodes are tiny LED lights organized into 672 triangular LED modules that were designed by the group.
Those modules can transform the ball into any assortment of colors, shapes and designs. In fact, the operators have the option of 16 million different shades of colors so the possibilities, they said, are limitless.
For the people who had a hand in it, it's something else to watch it drop on TV.
"The fact that once a year you see it on TV with millions of other people is very gratifying for us," said Ted Russ of the Lighting Science Group said.
The company not only designs specialty items like the New Year's ball, they are paving the way for new power-saving home LED light bulbs that can be purchased at Home Depot.
The company said it assembled their one-millionth light bulb earlier this month and last week won a multi-million dollar contract to start relighting the streets of Washington, DC.
The Times Square ball has been tested and retested and the company said it's ready to go. Company officials said they will be watching proudly from their homes on the Space Coast.
WFTV
