The tech behind U2 tour

cnet News article The tech behind U2′s record-smashing tour tells about the technology used in U2′s 360 tour. It has been called the biggest rock tour in history, at least as measured by the size and cost of its infrastructure–more than $750,000 per show, according to Rolling Stone. The center of the show is a custon made 360-degree stage, which allowed huge numbers of fans to watch the show from all the directions. The 360-degree stage features a 90-foot-tall steel structure, topped by a center pylon reaching 150 feet in the air; the innovative 360 degrees video screen atop the stage. The video screen, according to information provided by the band’s publicists, is “broken into segments mounted on a multiple pantograph system, which enables the screen to ‘open up’ or spread apart vertically as an effect during different stages of the concerts.” The screen itself is comprised of more than a million pieces, including components to illuminate 500,000 pixels, as well as 320,000 fasteners, 30,000 cables and 150,000 machined pieces. The show employs a large number of computers and electric motors to control the motion of the screen, and there are large numbers of computer-controlled moving lights.