Inside view of our demo/training/test room (people in the picture are no employees of R&D International, nor Martin Professional)
As a software engineer, I'm currently involved in the development of the Maxxyz light console, which is marketed by Martin Professional A/S in Denmark. The electronics hardware and the software are being developed at R&D International NV, which is located in Belgium.
Inside view of our demo/training/test room (people in the
picture are no employees of R&D International, nor Martin Professional)
Personally, I focus on technology and architecture. The system runs Windows XP embedded on two P3 main boards. COM+ is used for handling the distributed environment. XML and, through ADO, Microsoft SQL server (desktop edition) are used for data storage and transfer. The Windows installer service will be used for automating software updates. I use Microsoft Visual C++ with MFC/ATL for development, other parts are developed using Borland Delphi as well. All electronics hardware runs I²C and is connected to the main boards using USB 1.1 connections. In addition to the mandatory DMX in- & outputs, DMX is also transmitted on Ethernet connections (ArtNet protocol for now). Controls include 2 very bright 12" TFT touch screens, 8-color LCD buttons, motorized faders, P&G digital belts, etc, and also many multimedia features.
The Maxxyz is already being used on a multitude of shows, presentations, etc. Below you'll find an excerpt of milestones, where I was personally involved on location.
The desk hit the spotlight at the Microsoft Embedded Developer Conference 2002 in Las Vegas, during the keynote speech. One of our consoles ran part of the accompanying light show. Another console was placed on the podium ("adopter product display", right above the speaker desk). The console was also demonstrated in the exhibition hall throughout the conference.
The first, large-scaled, live show that's fully controlled by a Maxxyz is the new Disney/Pixar's "Monsters, Inc on Ice" show (from the "Disney On Ice" series of shows), produced by Feld Entertainment. We joined the team in August 2003 for tuning the software while they were finalizing the show in Lakeland, Florida.
In parallel with the Maxxyz console development, a headless implementation was developed for unattended light control, mainly targeted for architectural lighting and theme parks. As a first adopter, "Bokrijk" - a mix between a theme park and a museum where century-old Flemish houses, farms and other common buildings were reconstructed on a 60ha (150 acres) open-air area - debuts a light & sound spectacle, starting January 2004 and only during winter season. While visitors drive around the park in a shuttle, they move centuries back in time to "witness" a marriage in a mystique surrounding. Story-telling is matched up with timecode-synchronized background music, light & special effects.
The Onyx Hotel tour
The Truth tour
The first two "Maxxyz" world tours to pass Belgium - Maxxyz's "home base" - were the Britney Spears "Onyx Hotel" tour (Flanders Expo, Gent, May 29th 2004) and the Usher "Truth" tour (Vorst Nationaal, Brussels, June 19th 2004). Both tours showed off quite an impressive light & video spectacle. At both concerts, we were able to meet the light directors to talk some more about the console and obtain feedback on how to further improve.
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