Schwäbische Post 14 January 2012

The specialist for laser shows and multimedia provides for optical phenomena in the night sky of Aalen
A green laser beam cuts through the night sky of Aalen. Dead straight, a shining beam runs from the industrial park in the west of the city to the TV tower on Braunenberg hill. These are neither scenes from a science fiction movie, nor is it the work of aliens. Rather, the company Lobo is once again active on its test track.
MARTIN SIMON
Aalen. When it comes to awards, the light design artists Lobo from Aalen are world champions – by a distance. For 30 years, the company has been active as a manufacturer and provider of rental services in the laser show and multimedia sector. In more than 70 countries, Lobo solutions are causing a sensation in clubs, amusement parks, cinemas, planetariums, theaters, cruise ships and in advertisement.
Before being showered in awards all around the globe, all ideas have their start in a rather small think tank in the west of Aalen. Those who want to be at the top of this industry need to test. And when Lobo is testing, the night sky above Aalen gets colorful.
In particular in December last year, many citizens of Aalen attentively observed the night sky. One, sometimes two laser beams arched above the entire city from west to east. “Yes, we were quite active in December,” the Creative Director, responsible for Lobo’s public relations, says. The company was testing for a very special project. “For the turn of the year 2012, we have inaugurated the Ashgabat Towers Project in the capital of Turkmenistan, probably the world’s largest permanent installation in the field of display lasers,” Lobo’s Creative Director tells. Beforehand, extensive testing was required.
For the tests, the laser beam is directed directly from the Lobo laboratories, at a height of three meters, to the TV tower on Braunenberg hill at a height of 722 meters above sea level. Put simply, a laser beam is a bundled beam of light, the Creative Director explains. The intensity of such a beam is influenced by various factors. The longer and clearer the visible distance of a laser beam, the higher its quality. In Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Lobo has optically connected various towers with laser beams. “The longest distance was about 13 kilometers,” the Creative Director says. The distance between the Lobo laboratory and the Naturfreundehaus is about 10 kilometers. “Enough to achieve meaningful results,” the Creative Director says. At times, a second laser beam, a so-called reference beam, is required for comparison, Lobo’s Creative Director explains. This was also often the case in December 2011.
Having the test track to Braunenberg hill was one of the reasons why the company remained in Aalen. “Here, we can apply and compare different technical solutions for our projects,” the Creative Director says. According to the Creative Director, there is probably no other city in Germany, maybe even in the world, where such optical phenomena can be seen as often. On average, they are testing six to eight times a year. “This depends on the projects and orders,” Lobo’s Creative Director informs.
He assures that the laser beams sent into the sky by Lobo are harmless for people and the environment. Only in the immediate vicinity of the laser cannon, i.e. in the Lobo laboratory, the engineers have to take safety precautions. “You must not look directly into the beam so close to the source, as it would damage the eyes. Additionally, there is a risk of fire,” the Creative Director says. However, for example those caught by the beam when taking an evening walk on Braunenberg hill, do not need to be afraid. “I have walked into the beam several times near the Naturfreundehaus and I am still healthy,” he says.
Lobo also does not interfere with air traffic. “Our test track is clearly defined and authorized. We do not enter airspace; at most we affect visual flight. However, we are testing at night, when no visual flight is possible,” Lobo’s Creative Director says.
But tests in airspace are also possible, as long as they are notified and approved in advance. “All pilots have to plan their flight in advance. For this, there are so-called NOTAMs (Notice to Airmen). For example, these will state that optical phenomena have to expected in the airspace above Aalen in the time between x and y,” the Creative Director explains.
There is also a reason why the beams above Aalen are mostly green. “The human eye does not react to any color as sensitive as to exactly this shade of green. It perceives green six times as bright as for example red or blue. The receptors for green are located directly in the center of the visible spectrum, those for red and blue rather on the fringe of the range of visible light,” the Creative Director explains. But there is also another reason. “It is technically easier and more affordable to produce a high quality green laser beam. However, in principle Lobo can realize laser beams in any color.
Tested in Aalen – on display in Turkmenistan: Lobo realizes arguably the world’s largest permanent installation in the field of display lasers
For the turn of the year 2012, Lobo has realized the “Ashgabat Towers Project”, now optically connecting the highest towers of Turkmenistan’s capital with dazzlingly bright laser beams in the national color green daily from 7 pm to 3 am. Display lasers are also included in this project, providing brilliant projections onto buildings. Between the towers, distances of up to 13 kilometers had to be covered. Therefore, only lasers of the highest brightness class were used. Lobo‘s Creative Director: “Thanks to our ten kilometer long laser test track, we were able to demonstrate to the client that it is not sufficient to install just any laser with a high output power, but that the interplay between several factors comes down to a particularly high effective brightness in the end. Here, the beam quality is a particularly decisive criterion. In the Lobo laboratories, optics tailored specifically to this installation were developed, guaranteeing an optimal power density even over large distances.”