At the same time, a giant permanent laser installation was launched. Scheduled for continuous operation in January 2012, the installation connects the highest towers of the Turkmenistan capital city Ashgabat with "dazzlingly-bright" laser beams in the national colour of green. Display lasers (used for building projections) are used as part of the project, seen for the first time on New Year's Eve.
Officials of the International Laser Display Association (ILDA) believe that it is the largest permanent display laser installation in the world.
According to reports, the president of Turkmenistan himself had the idea for this project. On his behalf, the largest Turkish construction corporation, Polimeks, searched for the ideal partner to implement this demanding project. Numerous companies in the display laser industry brought in ideas, concepts and offers, but in the end, internationally renowned laser specialist LOBO secured the project.
Even for LOBO's experienced engineers, this project was a real challenge, says the company.
"A total distance of almost 30km had to be spanned between all the towers in an extremely bright environment. Within LOBO's 30 year history, temporary projects of similar scale have been implemented on a rental basis. But the fully automated and daily operation of such a complex system demanded entirely different approaches."
To provide optimal visibility, all beams were designed bi-directionally. Only lasers of the highest brightness class have been used. The ultra-bright lasers of LOBO's Sparks series served as the primary technical basis for the project, but Coherent Verdi lasers were also used. The automation of the installation is handled by LOBO's proprietary LACON-5 platform. Integrated GPS-modules take care of the synchronization of all laser systems.
LOBO's creative director Alexander Hennig comments: "Thanks to our own 10km-long laser test track, we could show our clients that it is not enough just to install any kind of high-powered laser; we had to achieve an especially high effective brightness. This depends mostly on the interaction of several factors beyond laser power. Superlative beam quality was a key requirement of this project. In the LOBO laboratories, specially designed optics were developed for this installation, guaranteeing optimal light density even over extreme distances."
(Claire Beeson)
