Intelligent lighting

Intelligent lighting refers to stage lighting that has automated or mechanical abilities beyond those of traditional, stationary illumination. Although the most advanced intelligent lights can produce extraordinarily complex effects, the intelligence lies with the programmer of the show rather than the instruments or the lighting operator. For this reason, intelligent lighting is also known as automated lighting, moving lights or moving heads.

There are many patents dating back from 1906, with Edmond Sohlberg of Kansas City, USA. The lantern used a carbon-arc bulb and was operated not by motors or any form of electronics, but by cords that were operated manually to control pan, tilt and zoom.

1925 saw the first use of electrical motors to move the fixture, and with it the beam position, by Herbet F. King (US patent number: 1,680,685). In 1936 US patent number 2,054,224 was granted to a similar device, with which the pan and tilt were controlled by means of a joystick as opposed to switches. From this point on until 1969, various other inventors made similar lights and improved on the technology, but with no major breakthroughs. During this period, Century Lighting (now Strand) started retailing such units specially made to order, retrofitted onto any of their existing lanterns up to 750 W to control pan and tilt.

George Izenour made the next breakthrough in 1969 with the first ever fixture to use a mirror on the end of an ellipsoidal to redirect the beam of light remotely. In 1969, Jules Fisher, from Casa Mañana area theatre in Texas saw the invention and use of 12 PAR 64 lanterns with 120 W, 12 V lamps fitted, 360 degrees of pan and 270 degrees of tilt, a standard that lasted until the 1990s. This lamp was also known as the 'Mac-Spot'

In Bristol in 1968, progress was also being made, mainly for use in live music. Peter Wynne Wilson refers to the use of 1 kW profiles, with slides onto which gobos were printed, inserted from a reel just like on a slide projector. The fixtures also had an iris, a multiple coloured gel wheel. These lights were also fitted with mirrors and made for an impressive light show for a Pink Floyd Gig in London. Another fixture known as the 'Cycklops' was also used for music in the USA, although it was limited in terms of capabilities. With only pan, tilt, and color functions, and at 1.2 m long and weighing in at 97 kg including the ballast, they were heavy and cumbersome. These units were designed more for replacing the ever unreliable local spotlight operators.

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Wikipedia