Robe Brings Fifth Dimension to Prolight+Sound 2025

	Robe's The Fifth Dimension show. Photo: Marko Polasek

Robe enjoyed an active Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt, Germany, exhibiting 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 retina-burning WTF! moving strobe-wash, the new LedPOINTE -- the first LED version of Robe's Pointe family of products -- and the iESPRITE LTL.

A show-stopping production design -- including lighting, staging, video, and soundtrack -- was devised by Robe's in-house creative team led by Nathan Wan and Andy Webb, using over 360 of the company's units to light some serious anti-gravity antics from acrobat Oskar Skrypko plus two dancers.

The ten-minute main show also bounced through five decades of music, embracing multiple genres in a visual extravaganza complete with effervescent choreography by Jaye Marshall.

Sixty of Robe's new SVB1s -- 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, effects, strobing, blinding, and general flash-bang-wow moments. The show illustrated how the WTF!'s linear strobe element can be color-corrected using the amber chip, one of a wide range of features, which, the company says, makes it more than just a strobe.

Eighteen SvoPATTS were utilized 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.

Forty-eight LedPOINTES -- Robe's next-generation Pointe family fixtures -- were also featured. Their speed and wide-and-narrow optical projection capabilities were highlighted. Many other Robe fixtures were involved: ESPRITE LTL, a new, bright workhorse fixture; iBOLTS which can be used indoors with its "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 utilized for impressive "sheet" lighting and patterns; assorted T-series fixtures including T11 and T15 utilized for set dressing and in the demo rooms, plus iSpiiders, used for washing parts of the set and stand as well as for pixel patterning.

The ten-minute main show was programmed on an Avolites D9-215 console and played five times a day.

The show file comprised 2,030 cues, 723 individual effects cues across 16 separate timelines utilising 108 cue lists, and the lighting fixtures consumed 64 DMX universes. All of this was programmed by the team during a pre-viz period and a short amount of time on site.

Continuing the teamwork theme, after a period of business expansion and acquisition in 2023-24, the synergy between Robe's core brands will continue to be a feature of the exhibition circuit.

Avolites presented its D7 console, the latest addition to the Diamond collection of consoles, with two variants, D7-330 and D7-215, which are 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 and 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 turned heads. These were highlighted, complete with improved performance, increased memory capacity, and are now optionally available in slick, modern grey and black finishes, the company says, seen at Frankfurt for the first time. LSC Control Systems showed a range of its power solutions, including UNITOUR, which gained lots of attention as a premium portable unit with patented technologies, 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 showcased the first in a brand-new range of compact control products including artPlay -- A 10" Art-Net touch screen 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 -- designed for facades, landscapes, and fixed installations requiring robust and reliable control.

Anolis, Robe's architectural LED brand, focused on three of its principal product ranges --Agame, Lyrae, and Eminere - and, in particular, Agame caught visitors' attention with its IP67-rated fixtures for enhancing windows and arches complete with a seamless 180-degree beam angle. Emphasizing the importance of precise color temperatures to create the perfect ambience, the new Agame family is currently offered in RGBW, RGBA, pure white, and tunable white versions. Pure white Agame options in 2,200K and 3,000K and tunable white -- for seamless adjustment between 2,200K and 3,000K -- are recent expansions to the range, widening flexibility and creative possibilities for lighting professionals.

Taking advantage of the spring sunshine, Robe's famous show truck was parked outside Hall 12 and utilized as an additional meeting and product demo area ahead of its busy summer festival schedule, with the AVOStream positioned right next door.