LOBO presents modular Water Screen® series – premiere in Austria

Projection surfaces made of water – for decades, these have proven to be extremely successful for the German company LOBO electronic. So successful, that the company even registered them as a trademark under the product name “Water Screen®”. By now, four different product lines of Water Screens® have been developed for a diverse range of indoor and outdoor applications. Spray Water Screens® in particular, which use a central pump-nozzle-combination to generate an almost semi-circular water shield, have proven their worth in many settings all around the world, ranging from Jordan to Italy. Graphics projected onto the Water Screen® with laser or video seem to hover freely in the room, capturing the audience’s attention on open-air stages, in amusement parks or at festivals and leaving a lasting impression.

Recently, the newest generation of these Water Screens® was unveiled following successful completion of the development process. In addition to a modular set-up, this new generation is characterized in particular by its compact control unit, an elaborate bend protection for the cables and simplified handling. The new Water Screens® are available in versions with one, two or three multi-stage submersible pumps, with the largest model generating a projection surface with a width of up to 42 meters. In order to meet different demands, all sizes are available both in a regular version as well as in a self-floating version with height-adjustable plastic pontoons. Even Water Screens® made from salt water resistant stainless steel are available for particularly spectacular applications in the open ocean.

The modular set-up means that each pump is housed in a separate frame, offering additional flexibility. This does not only save transportation costs, but also facilitates handling and provides the opportunity to subsequently expand the Water Screen® with a second or even a third pump for a rather affordable price.
The modular set-up also makes assembly of the Water Screen® on location much easier: Within only a couple of hours, two persons can fully assemble the screen. Although the largest version of the Water Screen® has a rather hefty weight of almost 2 tons, a regular truck with loading crane completely suffices to lift it into the water.
As a standard, the pumps of the Water Screens® are equipped with a stainless steel cooling jacket, an integrated check valve, as well as a washable mesh filter to protect against coarse contaminants. An elaborate hold system of the supply cables provides the necessary strain relief as well as sufficient bend protection for the cables.
The control cabinet, used for previous Water Screen® models, was replaced by a significantly more compact control unit in the standardized 19“ format, designed separately for each pump. Each of these units is equipped with soft-start functionality, a standard circuit breaker as well as a fault current switch. The units are controllable via standard DMX signal or 230 V control voltage.  

With these improvements, the Spray Water Screen® is even more diverse in its applications. And the first clients were already able to convince them-selves of the new models.

Premiere in Austria

After all, the new product line already had its big premiere at the end of July in the Austrian holiday destination Sankt Kanzian. For an art installation on the picturesque Lake Klopein, the local tourism association opted for the floating version of the new Water Screen® with three pumps. All summer long, it will be used for spectacular nighttime video projections at various locations all around the lake. For this purpose, a special solution with buoys was developed to facilitate a floating version of the cabling. Thanks to this ingenious design, the Water Screen can now be easily towed to the various event locations with a boat. In practice, assembly was as simple as previously envisioned and after only one working day, the LOBO team was able to hand over the Water Screen® to the tourism association.

It did not take long for the first event to be staged: Only a few days after the installation, the multimedia show “Klopeiner See im neuen Licht” (Lake Klopein in a new light) enchanted locals and tourists alike. All summer long, various international artists will use the projection surface for their presentations. This will include everything from abstract images to photorealistic projections, including that of a gigantic whale. The art displays are set to take place twice a week until early October. And when considering the overwhelming success, it is likely to be repeated next year.