Laser Technology For Amusement Parks

The fascinating aspects of laser are almost impossible to describe: It generates abstract three-dimensional sculptures of light that fill the room, vibrating and pulsating in sync with the music. If single beams are projected across the sky, event locations can be seen from miles away. Alternatively, it can also be used to project neon-like 3D graphics and animated shows onto screens or onto fully transparent Water Screens in all dimensions, where any other medium would be completely useless.

Surprisingly, modern show laser technology is quite a rare sight in amusement parks. Here and there, laser systems are used to upgrade stage shows with simple effects. However, installations that make use of the full potential of laser technology are seldom seen. But why?

The main reason is probably purely a technological one. Even today, a large majority of laser systems looks like during the pioneering days, when show laser technology found its way out of military research laboratories. On a so-called optical bench, dozens of small mirrors are swiveled into the beam path by a relay, redirecting the beam onto various mounted effect discs on the bench or mirrors around the room. It is not hard to imagine that these sometimes rather adventurously looking contraptions are not only mechanically vulnerable, but also in need of permanent adjustment. These efforts can rarely be aligned with the operations of an amusement park. Often, parks don’t even mention the existence of their laser systems in their brochures, as they cannot guarantee their reliable functionality.

When looking at the few amusement parks who have even expanded their laser systems to be one of their central attractions, the name LOBO comes up time and again. Among experts, the brand is considered to be synonymous with high-tech and quality in the show laser industry and even the state of Baden Württemberg uses it as a flagship for its location advertisement.

For 15 years now, LOBO has been fully committed to the development and production of high end show laser systems, its products becoming a driver of innovation for an entire industry. Ten years ago, LOBO’s engineers were the first to generate graphics in more than 16 million colors with the originally monochrome laser beams, they developed the world’s largest mobile show laser system on basis of two 16 ton standard containers, they developed the transputer-based work station line LACON, awarded with the state innovation award, and they are the only ones on the market to offer adjustment- and maintenance-free laser systems suitable for continuous operation.

Example Munich: An installation in the BMW Museum has been in trouble-free continuous operation for more than 24,000 operating hours; a couple hundred meters on, one of the largest LOBO laser systems has been in faultless operation for six years in the planetarium of the Forum of Technology.

For this reason, LOBO laser systems are in particular demand wherever reliable functionality of the laser is indispensable: On cruise ships in the Caribbean, in museums or even in the venerable festival theater in Bayreuth – but also at large events of internationally renowned companies such as Microsoft, Allianz or Daimler-Benz.