Gobo Virtual Machine for Stage Lighting Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing stage lighting systems require complex computing power to manage intricate lighting effects, with consoles producing individual commands for each light, leading to inefficiencies in processing and compatibility issues with new processor generations.
Innovation Solution
A system where a computer processes console commands to generate output for projectors, using a generic command form that can be processed by multiple computers, enabling the creation of complex lighting effects by combining multiple layers with specific characteristics such as shape, color, and effects, and compiling code for a specified processor to ensure compatibility across different hardware.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If individual hardware-specific solutions are used for stage lighting control, then the system can be optimized for specific hardware, but it becomes difficult to adapt to new processor generations without significant reprogramming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal virtual machine architecture that can execute the same bytecode on different processor generations. The virtual machine acts as an intermediary layer between the lighting control software and the hardware, allowing the system to maintain hardware optimization while adapting to new processors through updated virtual machine implementations rather than reprogramming the entire system.
Solution Approach 2:
The virtual machine serves as an intermediary between the high-level lighting control commands and the underlying hardware-specific implementations. By compiling commands to processor-independent bytecode that runs on the virtual machine, the system decouples the control logic from hardware specifics, enabling easier adaptation to new processor generations.
2Adaptability or versatility
If complex computing power is used to manage intricate lighting effects, then the lighting effects become more sophisticated, but the system requires frequent code updates and is tied to specific hardware
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the lighting control system into distinct layers: the command compilation layer that generates processor-independent bytecode, the virtual machine layer that executes the bytecode, and the hardware layer that provides actual lighting control. This segmentation allows complex lighting effects to be managed through the virtual machine abstraction, reducing code maintenance requirements while maintaining sophistication.
Solution Approach 2:
The virtual machine creates a virtualized copy of the processing environment that emulates the behavior of specific hardware processors. This copying approach allows the system to maintain optimized control logic for specific hardware while running on different actual processors, reducing the need for frequent code updates when hardware changes.
3Productivity
If hardware-specific code is used for each processor generation, then the code can be optimized for that hardware, but it requires significant reprogramming when hardware changes
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary compilation of lighting control commands into processor-independent bytecode that can run on multiple processor generations without modification. This preliminary action of creating hardware-agnostic code eliminates the need for time-consuming reprogramming when hardware changes, while the virtual machine ensures processing efficiency is maintained through optimized bytecode execution.
Data Source
AI summary
Producing complicated effects based on image processing operations. The image processing operations are defined for a processor which may be different than the processor which is actually used. The processor that is actually used runs an interpreter that interprets the information into its own language, and then runs the image processing. The actual information is formed according to a plurality of layers which are combined in some way so that each layer can effect the layers below it. For example, the layers may add to, subtract from, or form transparency to the layer below it or make color filtering the layer below it. This enables many different effects computed and precompiled for a hypothetical processor, and a different processor can be used to combine and render those effects.