mondo technology in entertainment January/February 2013

Company: Coherent Location: Frankfurt, Germany

A dramatic laser display at the Frankfurt Motor Show launch matched BMW's corporate blue wavelength, and was achieved with a minimal carbon footprint, in harmony with the fuel efficiency theme of the company's new i-3 series of automobiles. The recent launch of BMW's new i-series of cars at the Frankfurt International Motor Show IAA was a milestone event for the BMW brand image, which has previously been based primarily on superior performance and handling. That's because this new i sub-brand is marketed as 'born electric'. In fact, the i-3 is completely electric with no internat combustion engine at all. Same of the other models use a combination of hybrid type features, such as regenerative braking, a carbon cell, and user-selectable software optimisation of engine efficiency (called ECO PRO), to deliver a 20% reduction in fuel consumption compared to similar earlier models. The launch was conceived by the BlueScope agency and managed by Rockservice, using the services of LOBO, a leading laser light show company based in Aalen, Germany. The Bluescope concept was to unveil the new models through a 'birthing tunnel' of blue light. It also utilised moving laser patterns and other effects to obscure the various areas of the display. The two primary challenges were to implement a bright laser display that matched BMW blue, and to accomplish this with a minimum carbon footprint by employing energy efficient lechnology. These needs were both met by using Taipan optically pumped semiconductor laser (OPSL) technology from Coherent integrated into Sparks colour laser projectors frem LOBO.