Automated Lighting, 3rd Edition

Chapter 10

Electromechanical Systems

In a dark place we find ourselves, and a little more knowledge lights our way. —Yoda, from Star Wars

In 1986 Coemar, an Italian theatrical lighting manufacturer, started producing a 350-watt moving mirror fixture called the Robot. It had five control channels; pan, tilt, color, gobo, and shutter. At about $2500 each they were popular sellers in nightclubs with a moderate to large budget, and they sold well in Europe and North America. After several months some of them started failing because the Airtronics servomotors driving all the motorized functions were only reliable to a point, and that point was usually surpassed shortly after the fixtures were turned over to the club operators. The robotic movement ...