Robe enjoyed an excellent and active 2025 Prolight+Sound expo in Frankfurt, Germany, exhibiting alongside its five core businesses – Robe, Avolites, Anolis, LSC Systems, and Artistic Licence – in a ‘Robe Village’ area that was constantly busy throughout the four-day trade show.
Many attractions drew visitors to the Robe booth, including the final performances of “The Fifth Dimension”, Robe’s 2024-25 live expo show concept, together with two new product launches, the T31 Cyc and T31 Cyc Slim, half-length versions of Robe’s existing T32 Cyc and T32 Cyc Slim range.
A host of other just-launched Robe technologies stood out prominently on the stand and its two public demo areas, including the WTF! moving strobe-wash, the new LedPOINTE – the first LED version of Robe’s Pointe family of products – and the iESPRITE LTL.
Fifth Dimension Finale
A show-stopping production design – including lighting, staging, video and soundtrack – was devised and delivered by Robe’s in-house creative team led by Nathan Wan and Andy Webb, using over 360 of Robe’s latest moving light and LED luminaires to light a performance from acrobat Oskar Skrypko plus two dancers.
Designed to show off the capabilities of the different lighting products, each batch of lights was also integrated into the show’s narrative arc with a section that “concisely illustrated their capabilities in meaningful ways,” explained Wan & Webb.
60 of Robe’s new SVB1 – a versatile, pixel-mappable moving head – were central to the show design. These were distributed above and behind the stage and as part of the floor package lining the ramp up to the stage. The multiple levels and layers of SVB1 properly showed off its adaptability and dynamics.
The new WTF – Wash Twist Flash was also prominent. Deployed in rows of six on either side of the stage, the WTF! fixtures were rigged to demonstrate how they can be used for washing, FX, strobing, blinding, accents, and excitement. Among countless other possibilities, the show illustrated how the WTF!’s linear strobe element can be colour corrected using the amber chip, one of a wide range of features making this more than ‘just’ a strobe.
18 x SvoPATTS were utilised both as a scenic element and a source of effects via the unit’s nine individual modules, each containing seven 40W RGBW multichips plus a central pixel that also contains a 200W white LED strobe. SvoPATTS were positioned upstage early in the design process, grouped to show off their power and punch.
48 LedPOINTES – Robe’s ‘next generation’ Pointe family fixture – made an impact.
Their speed and excellent wide and narrow optical projection capabilities were brilliantly highlighted. Packed with creative potential and outstanding performance, the LedPOINTE stands out as a superlative example of LED spot, beam, wash and FX technology.
Many other Robe fixtures were involved in the show: ESPRITE LTL, a new super-bright workhorse fixture; iBOLTS which can be used indoors with ‘Stage’ mode enabled for additional safety features; iFORTE LTX, currently Robe’s brightest multipurpose moving light; the 360 rotating TetraX LED battens and the popular Tetra2 battens utilised for impressive ‘sheet’ lighting and mesmeric patterns; assorted T-series fixtures including T11 and T15 utilised for set dressing and in the demo rooms, plus iSpiiders that were used for washing parts of the set and stand as well as for pixel patterning.
The 10-minute main show was programmed on an Avolites D9-215 console and played 5 times a day throughout Prolight+Sound.
The showfile comprised 2030 cues, 723 individual effects cues across 16 separate timelines utilising 108 cue lists, and the lighting fixtures consumed 64 x DMX universes. All of this was programmed by the team during a pre-viz period and a short amount of time on site.
And while it might be a lighting designer’s dream to have all these fixtures at their disposal to create and integrate into a show, the challenge was to show how each of the different technologies and product groups might be used in real-world situations in engaging and practical ways.
Teamwork
After a period of business expansion and acquisition in 2023-24, the synergy and integration between Robe’s core brands were clear to see.
Avolites presented its D7 console, the latest addition to the ‘Diamond’ collection of consoles, with two variants, D7-330 and D7-215, offering an ultimate travel and performance visual console, which is packable into a standard Peli Air case for checking in as hold luggage to fly anywhere.
Other featured Avo hardware included the flagship D9-330 & D9-215 lighting control consoles, along with the T3 and T3 Wings – Avo’s smallest-footprint professional lighting control products.
New-look versions of Tiger Touch II and Arena consoles were also highlighted, complete with improved performance, increased memory capacity and are now optionally available in modern grey & black finishes, seen at Frankfurt for the first time.
LSC Control Systems showed a range of their power solutions, including UNITOUR, which gained attention as a premium portable, with patented technologies, unit designed to power video, audio and lighting systems at events, touring and on film and TV productions.
Available as 24 or 48-channel modular systems, UNITOUR essential features include per-channel earth leakage monitoring, staggered start-up, dropped neutral protection and more.
The Artistic Licence team met existing and new colleagues and customers and showcased the first in a brand-new range of compact control products including artPlay – A 10-inch Art-Net touchscreen controller for intuitive scene editing and recall, and artCore, a compact scalable control and integration solution to expand the artPlay touchscreen capabilities for larger installations – perfect for facades, landscape and fixed installations requiring robust and reliable control.
Anolis focused on three of its principal product ranges – Agame, Lyrae, and Eminere – and Agame in particular caught visitors’ attention with its IP67-rated fixtures for enhancing windows and arches complete with a seamless 180-degree beam angle.
Emphasising the importance of precise colour temperatures to create the perfect ambience, the new Agame family is currently offered in RGBW, RGBA, Pure White, and Tuneable White versions.
Pure White Agame options in 2.200K and 3.000K and Tuneable White – for seamless adjustment between 2.200K and 3.000K – are recent expansions to the range, widening flexibility and creative possibilities for lighting professionals.
Robe Showtruck – Taking advantage of some sunshine, Robe’s Show truck was parked outside Hall 12 and utilised as an additional meeting and product demo area ahead of its busy summer festival schedule, with the AVOStream positioned right next door.
