SubscribeWith nearly 6000 clients in 62 countries, Pangolin is the largest provider of innovative software to the laser industry.
Dubbed the Microsoft of the laser world, the US based company has a reputed 90% market share in the laser software arena, with many major clients using their products to help create a host of award-winning lighting shows. A look at this past years SIB exhibition - arguably the European show for lighting and lasers - offered firm proof of this pervasive reach, with four of the five top laser exhibitors presenting displays controlled by Pangolin products.
Pangolin's success stems from its consistently inclusive approach to both products and customers. When established in 1986, they were the only company to sell nothing but software to the laser entertainment industry. Whilst other companies sold (and in many cases still sell) a full range of hardware, shows, lasers and projectors, Pangolin's sole focus on software allowed them to propel the technology forward, without the distraction of projector-hardware development or doing shows.
Even when, in the mid 1990s, the company did finally introduce hardware elements they made it a point of only producing devices that had very specific applications and were strictly related to their new and existing software. "To this day we do not sell projectors, lasers or scanners. In this way we do not compete with people who are selling our software," notes company President William R. Benner, Jr. "Pangolin is also usually the very first company to implement truly groundbreaking features, usually with competitors implementing our ideas several years later."
The Lasershow Designer 2000 system - launched in late 1999 and still driving the industry today - is one of a host of software and related hardware products from Pangolin that enable laserists to achieve just about every effect they desire. Indeed for anything they don't cover, their "Software Development Kit" (SDK) effectively allows users to create their own laser software programs and extend the capability of currently available equipment. This SDK can be used for laser show applications (for example, to create customized user interfaces for playback of laser shows) and also for non-show applications such as marine biology research, jet fuel flow analysis and, most intriguingly, top-secret nuclear physics experiments.
With such a broad involvement in the laser world, the health of the industry as a whole is naturally a prime concern. Historically, Pangolin has helped secure its future in a host of ways, not the least of which is the time that Pangolin staff members have spent in their roles of Association President and Technical Committee Chairman for the International Laser Display Association (ILDA) - the laser show industry's main trade organization. In addition, their involvement with safety-related organizations and bodies such as SAE-G10 committee, US Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) and even the UK National Radiological Protection Board to promote the safe use of laser displays, has helped ensure that the industry is not effectively shut-down by legislation and restrictive guidelines.
Elsewhere, Pangolin has worked in a non-profit capacity along side some of the companies that sell products into the industry - companies like NEOS, Cambridge Technologies, General Scanning and Lexel - advising and encouraging them towards the production of quality products that are suitable to the needs of clients and which in turn propel the growth of the industry.
"All of this made it possible for the little guy to flourish and really for the entire industry to grow," explains Benner. "When we first got started there were only perhaps 20 companies in the entire world that did laser shows. Now, we have thousands of clients and that number is actually accelerating, thanks to some new products that we have come out with."
And the products keep coming. Most recently Pangolin dedicated around ten man-years to developing a new SMS-related software that is set to open up new markets for laser display applications. Recognizing a trend in clubland for an increasing proliferation of video displays operated by rising superstar VJs, the software is designed to work in tandem with existing technologies to complement the phantasmagoria currently found in clubs.
After that you can expect to see something of a revolution in laser software coming from Pangolin, though as yet the company is remaining tight lipped: "I can certainly say that it will be as much of a quantum leap over our current LD2000 system, as LD2000 was over our previous system," Benner reveals. "I can't tell you too many details about it because I don't want to give away any surprises. But I will say that everyone on our development team is excited, as are the close group of laser professionals that we use during development and beta testing periods."
President and CTO, William R. Benner, Jr, Pangolin Laser Systems
William R. Benner Jr. is President and CTO of Pangolin Laser Systems. As President, he sets the general strategic direction for the company and oversees all aspects of company operations. As CTO, he is in charge of all hardware and software development as well as research for new products and new directions for the entire laser display industry.
William has been active in the laser display community since 1985. In addition to his current role at Pangolin, William is also a member of the board of directors of the International Laser Display Association (ILDA) and formerly served as ILDA Technical Committee Chairman for seven years.
Throughout his career in the laser industry, William has worked with show producers on specific projects, as well as manufacturers including NEOS, Cambridge Technologies, RMB Miniature Bearings and many others.
William holds numerous US and International Patents, received personal letters of commendation from former U.S. President Ronald Reagan and former Florida Governor Bob Graham, and has had articles published in the SMPTE Journal, The Laserist, LaserFX, EDN magazine and Motorola's Embedded Connection magazine.