Taylor Swift or Coldplay concerts —to give a few examples— are a real light show thanks to the bracelets that attendees receive at the entrance and carry at all times. These make the show more visually attractive, as the bracelets, popularly known as Xylobands, can be synchronized with music or create shapes and movements, as we have recently seen in the The Eras Tour of the aforementioned American artist.
These bracelets, usually made of plastic, may seem like a simple device, which only have LED lights and a button cell to make them work. The Xylobands and the like, actually, they have other components that make them synchronize with each other. Its operation is somewhat more complex than activation through contact with the battery.
In fact, and if they simply worked thanks to a battery, the bracelet could emit only one continuous light or, at most, a sequence of lights. In any case, none of these would be in sync with the music. To make it so, the bracelets have a radio frequency or infrared receiver. This is responsible for receiving the signals from a transmitter that is normally controlled by the organizers of the show.
This is the bracelets used by artists like Taylor Swift in their concerts
Artists like Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, Lady Gaga or Bad Bunny, use PixMob company bracelets at their concerts, one of the leaders in these devices. The brand’s most popular model is the LED Wristband X3. Works using infrared (IR); a technology similar to radio frequency, but with some disadvantages; their range, for example, is shorter and may not have as precise timing as those that use radio frequency (FR).
In any case, and as he affirms Vincent Leclerc, CTO of PixMob, for the infrared wristbands to work correctly, signal transmitters are installed throughout the facility. Using a device, the light commands are sent to these transmitters, which in turn convert them into infrared light signals so that the bracelets can receive them.
All this is done through its own program called Moving Head, which even allows choose the light effect you want to create bracelet by bracelet. For this reason, in Taylor Swift’s concerts we can see the way of a snake moving when he sings ‘Look What You Made Me Do’. O well, hearts of lights while performing ‘Lover’.
The ones Coldplay uses are a little different.
PixMob, of course, is not the only company that has this type of smart bracelet. RB Concepts Ltd, owned by the brand xylobands, is another great company; the one Coldplay uses in their concerts.
His wristbands work similarly to PixMob’s. In this case, with a receiver radio frequency that receives signals from a transmitter and reaches a distance of between 400 and 800 meters. That is, enough to reach a full stadium.
In this way, we reiterate, the team of Coldplay concert operators designs the light commands. Through the transmitter, it sends them by radio to the smart bracelets, which interpret the command exactly.