lasers - Pangolin Laser Systems Inc.

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As the driving force behind many of the worlds top laser shows, Pangolin’s standing as the largest player in the laser software
industry seems assured. As President William R. Benner Jr explains, however, this software giant still looks out for the little guy...
W
ith over 4000 clients in
60 countries, Pangolin is
the largest provider of
innovative software to the laser
industry. Dubbed the Microsoft of
the laser world, the US based company has a reputed 90% market
share in the laser software arena,
with many major clients using their
products to help create a host
of award winning lighting shows. A
look at this years SIB exhibition –
arguably the European show for
lighting and lasers – offered firm
proof of this pervasive reach, with
four of the five top laser exhibitors
presenting displays controlled by
Pangolin products.
Pangolin’s success stems from its
consistently inclusive approach to
both products and customers.
When established in 1986, they
were the only company to sell
nothing but software to the laser
entertainment industry. Whilst other
companies sold (and in many
cases still sell) a full range of lasers,
projectors, hardware and shows,
Pangolin’s sole focus on software
allowed them to propel that
technology forward without the
distraction of projection harware
development or doing laser shows.
Even when in the mid 1990s, the
company did introduce hardware
elements, they made it a point of
only producing devices that had
very specific applications, and
were strictly related to their new
and existing software. “To this day
we do not sell projectors or lasers.
is one of a host of software and
related hardware products from
Pangolin that enable laserists to
achieve just about every effect
they desire (see the side panel).
Indeed for anything that Pangolin
doesn’t already produce, their
“Software Development Kit” (SDK)
effectively allows users to create
“Pangolin is also usually
the very first company to
implement truly groundbreaking
features, usually with competitors
implementing our ideas
several years later.”
In this way we do not compete
with people who are selling our
software,” notes company President William Richard Benner, Jr.
“Pangolin is also usually the very
first company to implement truly
groundbreaking features, usually
with competitors implementing our
ideas several years later.”
The Lasershow Designer 2000
system – launched in late 1999,
and still driving the industry today –
their own laser software programs
and extend the capability of
currently available equipment. This
SDK can be used for laser show
applications (for example, to create customized user interfaces for
playback of laser shows) and also
for non-show applications such as
marine biology research, jet fuel
flow analysis and, most intriguingly,
top-secret nuclear physics experiments at Lawrence Livermore Labs.
With such a broad involvement in
the laser world, the health of the
industry as a whole is naturally a
prime concern. Historically, Pangolin has helped secure its future in
a host of ways, not the least of
which is the time that staff members have spent in their roles of
President and Technical Committee Chairman for the International
Laser Display Association (ILDA) –
the laser show industry’s main trade
organization. In addition, their continual involvement with safetyrelated organizations and bodies
such as SAE-G10 committee and
even the UK National Radiological
Protection Board to promote the
safe use of laser displays, has
helped ensure that the industry is
not effectively shut-down by legislation and restrictive guidelines.
Elsewhere, Pangolin has worked
in a non-profit capacity along side
some of the companies that sell
products into the industry – companies like NEOS, Cambridge Technologies, General Scanning and
Lexel - advising and encouraging
them towards the production of
quality products that are suitable to
the needs of clients and which
Above: an HB Laser show powered by Pangolin technology. Below (l-r): the conversion of Cinema 4D directly into laser frames; flight through a cityscape, created
in 3D Studio Max then automatically converted to laser; the QM 2000 - compact PCI-based controller hardware; real-time video tracing with Lasershow Video VST
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1998:
Avec plus de 4 000 clients dans 60 pays, Pangolin est
le plus grand fournisseur de logiciels novateurs conçus
pour l’industrie du laser. Un grand nombre de grosses
pointures utilize les produits de cette entrepise américaine qui détient apparemment 90 % des parts de marché
des logiciels laser, pour créer une pléthore de spetacles
de lumière prisés. A sa création en 1986, elle était la
seule à ne vendre que des logiciels aux acteurs de
l’industrie des spetacles à base de lasers. Cette exclusivité lui a permis de propulser cette technologie sans être
obligée de se consacrer également au developpement
de projecteurs-materiels ou à la production de spetacles.
Même si l’entreprise propose désormais du matériel, elle
ne fabrique que des produits se rapportant directement
à ses logiciels et ne fait par conséquent jamais concurrence à ses clients. Son nouveau logiciel pour système
SMS s’apprête à révolutionner les spetacles en boîte de
nuit à base de lasers. Pangolin travaille aussi en coulisse
pour assurer la longévité de l’industrie du laser. Grâce
à sa collaboration avec ILDA et UK National Radiological Protection Board, l’industrie n’est pas menacée de
disparition consécutivement à une réglementation trop
stricte. En outre, Pangolin a aidé des fabricants de matériel plus petits à créer des produits dont l’industrie a
réellement besoin.
•Simplified and automatic Image Masking
•LIVE! Controller built into the main software package
D
history of innovation
1988: LSD1000 software for the Amiga computer
1990: LD400 software for the Amiga computer
1992: LD software for Windows
•“True-color” support (no palettes)
•6-channel color output
•Ability to work with both point and vector frames
•Beam brush
•Built-in raster to vector conversion of colored images
LD software for Windows is continually enhanced...
1995:
•Timeline-based show creation system Raster laser frames
•Multimedia file support (CD, WAV)
1997:
•Export shows as ILDA frames
•Networking of multiple systems
1999:
•Lasershow Performer console
•Support for Video Sync input
Pangolin’s LD2OOO software launched in 1999...
•Enhanced raster frames with higher resolution
•Support for and unlimited number of colors
•Support for up to 60,000 frames with up to 6,000 points in each frame
•Soft line beginnings and endings
•Digital geometric correction
•Support for up to 130,000 points per second
•Real-time video tracing with Lasershow Video - VST
•Compact PCI-based controller hardware (QM2000)
...and constantly updated...
2000:
•Support for DMX-512 devices
•Clipart search engine
•Enhanced file dialog boxes
2001:
•Conversion of 3D Studio MAX directly to laser frames
•Beam Attenuation Maps
•Frame security
•Shows exportable as AVI files
2002:
•LD2000 Asteroids laser game
•Enhanced Reality Preview
•Support for lightning, shading, shadows and textures with laser graphics
2003:
•Conversion of Maromedia FLASH directly into laser frames
•Conversion of Cinema 4D directly into laser frames
2004:
•Lasershow Puppeteer Interactive Laser Character software
2005:
•Support for up to 30 projectors and 1GB of laser data
2006:
Top to bottom: Pangolin has provided the
software that enhances performances of
all kinds; Pangolin’s President William R.
Benner Jr.; the CD2000 Lasershow player;
the Lasershow Performer Console
in turn propel the growth of the
industry as a whole.
“All of this made it possible for the
little guy to flourish and really for
the entire laser industry to grow,”
explains Benner. “When we first got
started there were only perhaps 20
companies in the entire world that
did laser shows. Now, we have
thousands of clients, and that
number is actually accelerating,
thanks to some new products that
we have come out with.”
And the products keep coming.
Most recently, Pangolin dedicated
•DMX-512 control of Live! and LivePRO
•Additional features added to the flagship LD2000 Intro package
2007:
•QM2000.NET: rack mountable and laptop friendly laser controllers
•Support for 32-bit and 64-bit version of Windows VISTA
around six man-years to developing a new SMS-related software
that is set to open up new markets
for both laser and video display
applications. Recognizing a trend
in clubland for the ever-increasing
proliferation of giant video displays
operated by rising superstar VJs,
the software is designed to work in
tandem with existing technologies
to complement the phantasmagoria currently found in clubs. After
that you can expect to see
something of a revolution in laser
software coming from Pangolin,
though as yet the company is
remaining tight lipped: “I can most
certainly say that it will be as much
of a quantum leap over our current LD2000 system, as LD2000 was
over our previous system,” Benner
reveals. “I can’t tell you too many
details about it because I don’t
want to give away any surprises.
But I will say that everyone on our
development team is excited, as
are the close group of laserists who
work with us during development
and beta-testing periods.” m
links: www.pangolin.com
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Mit über 4000 Kunden in 60 Ländern ist Pangolin der
größte Anbieter von innovativen Softwarelösungen für die
Laserindustrie. Die amerikanische Firma soll einen Anteil
von 90% am Lasersoftware-Markt haben, und viele renommierte Kunden haben die Produkte der Firma bereits
zur Kreation preisgekrönter Beleuchtungsshows benutzt.
Bei seiner Gründung 1986 war Pangolin das einzige
Unternehmen, das sich voll und ganz dem Vertrieb von
Software an die Laser-Unterhaltungs-branche widmete.
Es konnte sich damit auf die technologische Weiterentwicklung konzentrieren, ohne durch die Entwicklung von
Hardware (Projektoren) oder die Konzeption von Shows
abgelenkt zu sein. Inzwischen stellt Pangolin zwar auch
Hardware her, allerdings nur solche, die in direktem
Bezug zu seiner Software steht – so dass es nie zum
Konkurrenten seiner Kunden wird. Die neue SMS-Systemsoftware verspricht, die Lasershows in Nachtclubs zu
revolutionieren.
Daneben kümmert sich Pangolin auch hinter den Kulissen um die langfristige Gesundheit der Laserindustrie.
Zusammen mit ILDA und dem UK National Radiological
Protection Board hat die Firma dafür gearbeitet, dass
der Branche nicht durch übermäßig strenge gesetzliche
Regelungen Fesseln angelegt werden. Pangolin unterstützt außerdem kleinere Hardware-Hersteller bei der
Kreation von Produkten, die genau auf die Bedürfnisse
der Branche abgestimmt sind.
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Con oltre 4000 clienti in 60 paesi, Pangolin è il maggiore fornitore di software innovativo al settore laser.
Con una quota di mercato stimata al 90%, l’azienda
americana conta numerosi e rinomati clienti che utilizzano i suoi prodotti per la creazione di lighting show di
prestigio. Nel 1986, anno della sua fondazione, l’azienda
era l’unica a offrire al settore degli spettacoli laser un
software dedicato, e questo le ha consentito di sviluppare la propria tecnologia senza lasciarsi distrarre da
attività secondarie, quali la fabbricazione di hardware per
proiettori o l’organizzazione di spettacoli. Anche se ora
Pangolin produce hardware, lo fa solo in stretta relazione con il suo software e per questo non entra mai in
concorrenza con la sua clientela. Il suo nuovo software
per sistemi SMS rappresenta una rivoluzione nei lighting show dei nightclub. Pangolin, inoltre, si adopera da
tempo per garantire una lunga prosperità al settore laser.
La sua collaborazione con ILDA e il National Radiological
Protection Board ha portato alla formulazione di normative non eccessivamente severe. Infine, Pangolin sostiene
i piccoli produttori di hardware nella creazione di prodotti
realmente utili per il settore.
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Con más de 4000 clientes en 60 países, Pangolin es
el mayor proveedor de innovaciones de software para
la industria del laser. Se considera que esta empresa
con base em los EE.UU, tiene una cuota del 90% en
el Mercado del software para laser, con muchos clients
importante que usan sus productos para ayudar a crear
multitude de galardonados espectáculos de iluminación.
Cuando se fundó en 1986, era una empresa que vendía
solamente software para laser en la industria del ocio.
Esto le permitió impulsar esta tecnología hacia adelante
sin la distracción de tener que desarrollar el hardware de
proyectores ni tener que organizer espectáculos. Aunque
actualmente la empresa produce hardware, solo fabrica
productos directamente relacionados con el software. De
esta forma, no entran nunca en competencia con sus clients. Su nuevo software, sistema SMS, se espera que sea
una revolución en las exhibiciones de láser de los clubes
nocturnos. Pangolin trabaja también detrás del escenario
para asegurar una larga y próspera vida a la industria del
láser. Su trabajo con ILDA y el Consejo Nacional de Protección Radiológica del RU ha asegurado que la industria no acabe cerrando por reglamentos excesivamente
estrictos. Además, Pangolin ha respaldado a fabricantes
de hardware más pequeños en la creación de aquellos
productos que la industria realmente necesita.