DT Stellar Platform - Doug Peterson Imaging Product Manager, Image Science, Product Evangelist, AI guru, and Photographer

Executive Overview

As the Head of Product at Digital Transitions, I identified a critical need for improved color accuracy in heritage digitization while maintaining productivity and ease of use. I led the conception, design, and launch of an integrated platform consisting of lighting hardware (DT Stellar), software (DT Nexus), and color science technology (DT Fusion). This comprehensive heritage imaging solution achieved:

Market Success: Achieved ~40% U.S. market share and $10M sales in first two years; 20% YOY profit increase
Influencer Adoption: Deployed in leading institutions including Library of Congress, MoMA, Asian Art Museum, and Minneapolis Institute of Art
Color Accuracy Leadership: 50% lower color error compared to competitive systems

This project demonstrates my leadership in cross-functional teams and ability to leverage public-private-academic partnerships for innovative product development.

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Market Analysis & Opportunity Identification

The Problem

By 2020, cultural heritage institutions had adopted camera-based digitization but faced challenges around color accuracy:

Challenging Materials: RGB camera sensors have inherent "blind spots" in their spectral response that affect some paintings, historical documents, and photographic materials
Cumbersome Solutions: Multispectral capture systems that could handle challenging materials were slow, cumbersome, and inflexible

The market needed a solution that had the color quality of a multispectral system with the simplicity and speed of a standard camera-based station.

Opportunity Validation

To validate and quantify this opportunity, I:

Conducted interviews with potential customers across multiple institutions
Evaluated competitors' systems and their technical and workflow limitations
Analyzed academic research on color science and spectral imaging
Identified the gap between customer needs and available solutions

Initial discussions with key institutions like Library of Congress, Asian Art Museum, and National Gallery of Art confirmed that there was a broader market need for improved color accuracy, but that maintaining simple and scalable workflow was a prerequisite to any such solution.

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As part of developing the go-to-market and communication strategy, I created, recorded, and edited this video used to launch the new products.

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Product Description

Our solution is a digitization system that improves color accuracy over existing solutions without sacrificing speed or simplicity.

It is comprised of both hardware, software, and color science innovation:

DT Stellar: A 19” light source with high CRI (spectral quality) and a second Sapphire-colored set of LEDs used for DT Fusion
DT Fusion: Our branding of DualRGB, a feature based on color science out of RIT. It combines captures made under white and sapphire light to improve color accuracy.
DT Nexus: The software that integrates the lighting and camera, and provides the DT Fusion feature

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Key Value Propositions & Differentiators

Superior Color Accuracy: DT Fusion Technology reduces color errors by 50%, especially for challenging archival materials
Simple Workflow: Hardware-software integration simplifies operation to a single foot pedal click
High-Volume Capability: 2-second capture cycle with batch processing for large collection digitization
Versatile Application: Handles all material types (reflective, transmissive, 3D objects)

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Challenges and Risks

The development faces significant challenges due to interdependencies between the hardware, firmware, software, and color science components that would have to be built simultaneously. This created substantial schedule risk.

To mitigate these risks, we:

Followed Agile: Created an engineering proof of concept with basic firmware and command-line control as our MVP
Secured Early Funding: Used proof of concept to generate sample images that won a major Library of Congress (LOC) contract.
Leveraged Early Feedback: Delivered prototype to LOC, creating a motivated external stakeholder for feedback during incremental software/firmware development.

This approach transformed a high-risk project into a funded development process with built-in customer validation.

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Go-to-Market Execution

Sales Model

B2B Approach: In-house sales team specialized in archive market
Turnkey Package: Includes hardware, software, installation, training, and support
Tiered Pricing Strategy: Hardware ships with DT Fusion built-in; activated through subscription model, creating recurring revenue and budget flexibility

Strategic Positioning

Dual Price Points: New DT Stellar at premium; previous generation DT Photon at lower-cost
ROI Emphasis: Improved color accuracy reduces post-processing time
FUD: Rare access to valuable artworks necessitates capturing at highest quality during limited availability

Market Penetration Strategy

Funded Development: Won a Library of Congress contract that offset R&D costs and provided early feedback
Influencer Seeding: Early test units in prestigious institutions created case studies
Academic Validation: Coordinated research publications coinciding with product launch
Targeted Marketing: Email campaign, webinars, and trade show demonstrations

Product Evolution

Post-launch improvements include:

Processing Speed Optimization: Faster capture and processing times (CPU to GPU transition)
Color Science Refinement: Further improved color accuracy algorithms
Documentation: Refined user guides based on early adopter feedback

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My Role

As Head of R+D and Product Manager (2023), I led a cross-functional team:

Design & Engineering: Directed industrial design, software/firmware engineers, and lighting specialists
Academia: Partnered with academic color scientists for DT Fusion technology
Marketing: Worked to define and execute the messaging strategy and marketing plan
Sales: Educated the sales team on the relevant USPs and technology, and helped close anchor sales

Key personal responsibilities:

Concept: Original ideation and creation of specifications from market needs
Business Strategy: Conducted market research, competitive analysis, and positioning
Partnership Management: Coordinated with Gray Sky Imaging (color science), Avian Rochester (target design) and manufacturing partners
Testing: Managed prototype testing with key institutions; developed and executed go-to-market strategy
Launch: Developed go-to-market strategy, marketing assets, and led the product launch

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Impact & Results

Market Success: Achieved ~40% U.S. market share and $10M sales in first two years; 20% YOY profit increase
Academic Recognition: System adopted for research publications on color accuracy
Market Leadership: Widely regarded as the most color-accurate system available today
Platform Development: Established technological foundation for future product development

Lessons Learned

This product succeeded because it:

Addressed a Critical Unmet Need: Improved color accuracy while maintaining productivity
Leveraged Academia: Incorporated RIT color science innovation
Delivered an Integrated Solution: Created complete hardware-software ecosystem
Simplified Complex Technology: Made advanced color science accessible
Achieved Early Adoption: Secured Library of Congress as anchor customer