Gadgetory

we're going to demonstrate one of the moves that we have in the show some of these buildings operate by cables under the stage pulling the buildings and some of the buildings have wireless control inside and they operate via battery and that's how they turn and close down in us like this and up there those buildings also move by a cable that are into the deck I am Steve stack Oh I work as the deck automation operator at Aladdin which means I operate all of the stage machinery from stage level on down into the trap room below the stage this particular show would not be possible without technology when I first started working in automation we tried to move three or four things at the same time they didn't move they didn't start there and stopped together this show we have 20 things that might move together and they all start and stop at the same time these buildings here some of them have to turn next to each other and get within inches of each other that would not be possible any other way all of the machines are connected to motor drives that I'll have to communicate back with the main computer at all times we have about 45 machines that run over a network about 30 of them are in a wired network and about 15 or in a wireless network immediately right behind a wall is my home in here is the area where I operate the show every night the left hand side all of the position information for each piece of scenery is stored at the right hand computer each number represents one controlled motor the first 18 are the tracks in the stage from here down to about here are the various elevators in the stage and everything that is blue right now are the wireless buildings and I operate just this tiny little console here very simple has a green button it starts the scenery moving and a red button that stops it in general I do not ever have to hit the red button it is only if I see something bad happening or somebody tells me to stop that we hit the stuff