Ultimate choreography of elements

At the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, a spectacular multimedia water show brought each evening to an emotional finale for up to 2,500 spectators. Production company ECA2 relied on the expertise of db Show Control & Automation for the precise and reliable synchronization of 300 water fountains with 30 flame effects across 8,800 square meters, as well as laser, video, and audio technology. Beckhoff provided the underlying automation technology: automation, safety, and the entire AV system were seamlessly integrated by converging PC-based control and specific entertainment protocols on a unified platform.

In the entertainment market for large-scale facilities and attractions, audience expectations are constantly on the increase. So, production companies like ECA2, which specializes in creating spectacular signature shows, have to keep on pushing the boundaries of technology with every project. “Under the Midnight Rainbow”, the evening show at the Water Plaza at Expo 2025 in Osaka, illustrates this perfectly.

Achieving this type of installation requires an automation architecture that goes far beyond conventional applications. British company db Show Control & Automation has been responsible for the technical design, programming, and construction of turnkey control systems for ECA2 projects for around 15 years. “Today, we need to deliver systems that can control hundreds of drives in a deterministic manner while simultaneously communicating natively with video servers or Q-SYS^® audio systems”, says CEO and company founder David Birchall. “It’s Beckhoff’s open PC-based control technology that enables us to achieve this protocol convergence. Other industrial control systems don’t support this feature.”

Distributed systems and strict time windows

280 straight water jets, eight 3D water jets with dynamic kinematics, two huge water screens, one cascade screen, and 30 flame effect stations were arranged across a sprawling water park for the six-month season in Osaka. In addition, there were fog machines, video mapping, projection equipment, and the central audio system.

The key to the success of this type of outdoor application lies in mastering all the media and effects involved – in real time and while taking environmental factors into account: strong winds must not cause the water jets to interfere with the flame effects or reach the spectators in the stands. Conventional architectures typically rely on separate control systems for show playback as well as sensors and actuators, resulting in interface losses, latency, and significant engineering work. “To evoke and sustain an emotional response in 2,500 people, the technology working behind the scenes cannot falter at any point,” says Aurelien Bouvier, Technical Director at ECA2. “So, we needed an automation platform that would orchestrate the magic of our water show invisibly, reliably, and with absolute precision.”

Topology and sensor processing

To meet these requirements, db Show Control & Automation implemented a specialized automation topology. At its heart is a CX5240 Embedded PC, which serves as the show controller in the main control room. Field distribution is handled by eleven control racks, which are located at various locations around the water park. EtherCAT and standard UDP/TCP Ethernet are used throughout for networking. EK1100 EtherCAT Couplers collect signals from the decentralized I/O levels in nine decentralized control cabinets. “The key advantage of the Beckhoff architecture is the seamless integration of automation and IT,” explains Craig Pow Chong, Director of Engineering at db Show Control & Automation. “We control nearly 300 variable frequency drives via EtherCAT. The cycle times and the synchronicity we achieve here are essential for accurate choreography. At the same time, we can easily interact with the AV systems via TCP/IP. If necessary, the system could be scaled almost indefinitely by adding more EtherCAT Terminals.”

A key unique selling point of the solution is its software-based environment monitoring, which is integrated directly into TwinCAT. Sensors located across the site continuously measure parameters including temperature, humidity, wind speed, wind direction, and water depth. All sensor data acquired is consolidated in the CX5240 in real time. TwinCAT analyzes the data streams and intervenes in the show’s sequence whenever necessary. If, for example, the sensors detect a critical gust of wind heading toward the spectator stands, the control will shut down the affected inverters in a fraction of a second or deactivate specific flame effects. Functional safety is also an integral part of automation. TwinSAFE Terminals are used to manage the emergency stop circuits and implement the flame effects. Since the safety controller communicates via FSoE on the EtherCAT network, there is no need for any parallel wiring.

A paradigm shift for playback

Complex DMX recordings and audio synchronizations usually require large, dedicated server racks. db Show Control & Automation broke new ground in this area by developing its own recording and playback platform based on TwinCAT. The hardware platform consists of two C6017 ultra-compact Industrial PCs, one of which is configured as a master system and the other as a backup system. The initial programming for the show was created using established entertainment tools including GrandMA and Medialon. The resulting Art-Net™ signal was then recorded by the master industrial PC. The system receives highly precise timecode by means of integration into the Q-SYS^® network. During live operation, the C6017 units handle the parallel playback of the 32 DMX universes independently without the need of GrandMA.

“Reliably recording and playing back a complete, time-coded show sequence using an industrial PC that fits in the palm of your hand is a real paradigm shift,” emphasizes Craig Pow Chong. “Without the performance of the Beckhoff IPCs and the flexibility of the TwinCAT software architecture, we would have had to budget for significantly more installation space and hardware costs.” The operator on site has full local access to the application via the connected CP2907 multi-touch Control Panel.

IT convergence: Data logging and diagnostics

Thanks to its IT capabilities, TwinCAT is also used for data handling in addition to pure machine control. The TwinCAT TCP/IP (TF6311) and TwinCAT Modbus TCP (TF6250) software modules are used for communication with third-party components and UPS systems, for example. To ensure high system availability, all system and sensor data is logged in a database via the TwinCAT Database Server (TF6420). This allows operators to monitor the entire site in real time via the HMI front end, in addition to performing in-depth diagnostics. If any anomalies occur in pump performance or environmental conditions, the exact same parameters from past shows can be retrieved and analyzed down to the second. ECA2 benefited directly from this continuity: during the World Expo, approximately two million people attended the show without a single technical hitch that would have disrupted proceedings.

The successful implementation in Osaka underscores the importance of open automation standards in the entertainment industry. “In our view, Beckhoff is the only control system manufacturer that combines industrial-grade hardware with native support for protocols like DMX, sACN, and QSC^® integration,” concludes David Birchall. Close collaboration with Beckhoff, particularly in the area of support, ensures that db Show Control & Automation benefits from the responsiveness required for global projects. Work is already under way on a follow-up project on a similar scale.