Solutions for force measurement and monitoring in entertainment venues
A variety of key sensor technologies are used in the planning, construction and monitoring of venue infrastructure and audiences before and during events. Venue management, architects, product developers and engineers go to great lengths to protect people from physical harm, risk and danger. This also includes detailed, real-time monitoring of the venue's infrastructure, the stage, equipment such as speakers and monitors, and the specialized equipment used for entertainment, be it in the music, theater or sports industries.
Interface provides torque and force measurement solutions for the global entertainment and amusement industry, which are used in entertainment venues around the world. To ensure the safety of event attendees, force sensors are ideal for monitoring large pieces of equipment and infrastructure. This is particularly important for outdoor venues where the elements such as wind and rain can pose serious safety risks.
From monitoring backstage rigging equipment to heavy lifting for backdrops and lighting, Interface offers a wide range of measurement and weighing solutions. Our products are used for staging, displays, film and drone equipment, as well as theme park machines and robots, as shown in our overview of Entertainment solutions described.
In addition to real-time monitoring, force measuring sensors are also used for testing in the development and construction phase. The entertainment industry is experimenting with a variety of new and immersive experiences for audiences, many of which involve massive infrastructure or robotics and animatronics. In live entertainment, you should never bring something as technical and complex as a mobile stage or a robot personality to people without thorough testing. Interface sensors have been used to test these types of applications. The accuracy of our products ensures that manufacturers receive the data they need to confirm and produce designs used for and by various forms of entertainment.
We have recently had a variety of Application reports compiled that describe exactly these types of applications in the entertainment industry used in venues to demonstrate how Interface products help meet compliance requirements, improve safety and reduce risks to patrons, crew, entertainers , athletes and staff while providing an entertaining experience.
Wind monitoring at outdoor festivals
An open-air festival took place on a large outdoor stage for several days. Outdoor stages pose a risk of high wind speeds that need to be monitored in case a storm passes. This is for the safety of all staff on the festival site to avoid accidents. Interface suggested the wireless Wind speed transmitter module WTS-WSS to be installed on the outdoor stage. The wind speed results were transmitted wirelessly via the WTS-BS-4 Wireless Base Station transmitted to the customer's PC via a USB interface in an industrial housing. The data can also be sent to the WTS-BS-1 Wireless Handheld Display for an unlimited number of channels. The data can be displayed, logged and graphed using the included Log100 software. Interface's WTS-WSS wireless wind speed transmitter module combined with Interface's wireless telemetry system was perfect for monitoring wind speed during the outdoor festival. Read more here.
LED screens for venues
A customer building a large venue wanted to weigh their very large LED screens. Additionally, the strength of the structure supporting the screens should be measured to ensure stability and structural integrity. Interface suggested the load cells of the LW General Purpose Load Washer to be mounted in rods that are part of the supporting structure. The LED screen hung on the structure connected to the rods. The compressive forces acting on the rods were measured from the LWs installed between them. The load measuring devices were wireless WTS-AM-1E strain bridge transmitter modules coupled, with the force results being transmitted wirelessly to both WTS-BS-1 Wireless Handheld Display for Unlimited Transmitters as well as to the WTS-BS-4 Wireless Base Stations can be transferred using the associated Log100 software. Interface's wireless load washer system successfully balanced the forces of the large LED screen for the client's new venue.
Venue Animatronics
Animatronics are used throughout the entertainment industry. From amusement and theme parks to movie sets, animatronics need to be accurately calibrated as they move, so limb torque needs to be tested. Interface's MRTP miniature snapshots were connected to the servo motors in the animatronic's limbs, which set them in motion. The customer monitoring the animatronics saw the torque results on his PC when the transducers were connected to the BX8-AS BlueDAQ series data acquisition with industrial housing. With this solution, the customer was able to record force results from their metal bending machine using Interface's wireless telemetry system.
This is just one example of the entertainment industry applications for which interface force sensors can be used. We are also heavily involved in providing standard and customized solutions used in drone testing and monitoring, touch screen calibration, equipment and infrastructure testing and much more.