About TOKYO Night & Light

TOKYO Night & Light uses the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building as a canvas for a wide range of quintessentially Japanese art. In February 2024, it earned a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for the largest architectural projection-mapped display (permanent).

Note: GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for largest architectural projection-mapped display (permanent), recorded on February 25, 2024.

Location:

 Kanto region, Japan

Dates:

 Every day (weekdays, weekends and holidays; screening schedule below.)

URL:

 https://tokyoprojectionmappingproject.jp/en/event/20240225
See our website for more details on this project

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Main Building No. 1,
where the projection mapping is displayed.

Background

Entertainment that serves as a nighttime tourist attraction

In recent years, events using projection mapping have garnered global attention as a way for cities to increase their tourist value at night. Their design has evolved at a startling rate and the content is becoming more sophisticated every day. Equally, there is a call for higher-performance projectors that can recreate every detail that makes the content so appealing, but the industry has faced a shortage of staff who can handle such advanced projectors, and has struggled with the higher labor costs required for the permanent staff handling the projection. There has also been a need for measures to make operations run more smoothly.

Solution

Smooth remote operation of an immersive spatial presentation

To execute a world-leading, highly artistic video presentation, it takes a total of 40 of the world's brightest¹ projectors: a 50,000 lm model and 30,500 lm model. Every last detail of the projection design was carefully calculated to create the dynamic projection on the enormous Tokyo Metropolitan Government building. The immersive spatial presentation combines pictures and audio, with 22 RAMSA line-array speakers creating lifelike three-dimensional sound. No on-site operation and management personnel are needed: everything is controlled fully remotely using digital signage solution AcroSign and a Remotely Managed Service² that enables remote monitoring every day of the year.

1 PT-RQ50K 50,000 lm projector; among projectors weighing up to 150 kg (excluding the lens); according to a survey by Panasonic in November 2019.

2 The service’s contents vary by country or region. Please contact your local Panasonic sales representative for detailed information.

A large crowd gathers to see our GODZILLA: ATTACK ON TOKYO show, which was launched at the end of April

The colorful The First Movement:
Creation from Nature section of TOKYO CONCERTO

The quintessentially Japanese The Second Movement:
Cultural Diversity section of TOKYO CONCERTO

About the system

The culmination of years of design and technical experience

It takes 40 projectors to project images on the 13,904.956 m² wall of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Main Building No. 1, so the first thing we needed to do was survey the wall where the images were to be projected and the building where the projectors were to be installed, and create CAD data accordingly. In this case, we decided to install the projectors on the roof, so we deliberated right down to the millimeter on where to install the projectors, avoiding solar panels and other existing structures, and what projection angle to use. We also developed custom housings that could bear the projectors' hefty weight while being durable enough to withstand harsh outdoor conditions like earthquakes, water and dust. This enabled us to build an efficient system that could get the most out of the projector's capabilities and maintain picture quality throughout long-term operation.

Fully remote operation through the cloud—no on-site staff needed

AcroSign, a digital signage solution, was used to build an operating system enabling content to be screened automatically according to a projection schedule, with no on-site staff needed. All necessary operations are performed remotely. Management and maintenance of the projectors is another vital element of running projection-mapped shows every day. For this, we use a Remotely Managed Service¹ to prevent issues. The footage from cameras installed on-site is checked and monitored every day of the year. If an issue with a projector occurs, an alert is issued. Maintenance services are also provided so that the quality of the show is always at its best for viewers.

In the words of a projection design team member

Only a manufacturer could have provided such a detailed projection design for the show

What does it take to design a permanent projection-mapped display larger than any other in the world? The first step was to work together with the system engineering and construction teams to measure our “canvas,” the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building where the display was to be projected. Unlike indoor venues, where accurate architectural drawings are already available, no outdoor surface, much less a massive one like the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building, is recorded in drawings detailed enough to be of any use for projection mapping. We solved this issue by using a special radar device that could accurately measure the size of the window frames and the size of each column between the windows, and used the measurements in CAD data. A template would then be created based on this CAD data and supplied it to the creators so that they could design their content to fit the shape of the building, so accuracy was vital.

In the words of a housing development team member

The robust housing enables highly accurate projection over a long period of time

My housing development team used the data created by the design team to start producing housing to hold the 40 projectors. The 30,500 lm projectors are placed together, one above the other, so we needed to design a housing for these sets of two projectors, while the 50,000 lm projectors needed individual housing. We made custom housing for each projector, tailored to its projection angle. A particularly critical factor was addressing the various issues created by the fact that these projectors were to be installed on a roof, including ensuring that they were sufficiently waterproof, windproof and earthquake-proof and resolving the issue of their immense weight. We determined that it would be impossible to accomplish this with conventional materials, and opted for aluminum. Aluminum requires advanced welding technology that only a few companies possess. By tag-teaming with one such company, we succeeded in building housing that was both light enough and strong enough.

When we installed each projector in its housing, we tested the rotation around the optical axis to ensure that each projector would project images at its respective angle calculated by the design team. In the housings where one projector sits on top of another, the two projectors each have different projection angles, and in some cases one crosses over the other. Even the smallest deviation in the angle would affect the picture being projected, so to determine the optical axis of each of the 40 projectors, we created specialized verification equipment that applied a laser simulating the optical axis of each projector. In order to pass the verification, the margin of error had to be below the required figure. When this was done, the housing was ready to be passed on to the construction team.

Kouichirou Tamura, Gemba Solutions Company, Panasonic Connect Co., Ltd.

In the words of a construction team member

Precise construction down to the millimeter enabled the image to be mapped according to the design drawings

It took multiple trips to transport the equipment, which weighed around 400 kg in total, to the top of the building. We then installed everything in the positions that were measured at the beginning of the project. If we got the wrong position, this would impact the precision of the projection, so we remeasured again and again during the installation process, communicating with the projection design team and coordinating so that there was no more than a millimeter of deviation between the positions they had chosen and the actual position of the projectors. Our team worked quickly together to get it finished in the time frame that was needed. I think this project affirmed that Panasonic’s strengths do not only lie in selling products—this is what we can do when a whole team, from projection design personnel to housing development, construction and operational support personnel, works together. The construction team poured all of its technical capabilities into the construction work so that we could bring to life the vision that the other teams created.

We also installed speakers, starting with temporary construction, to create three-dimensional sound. Eleven sets of two line-array speakers were suspended from the eaves of the building and these, too, needed to meet the particularly stringent safety standards of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, including resistance to earthquakes and wind. We plan to use this upgraded audio system to provide an even more immersive experience in future, so I hope a lot of people will come to see the displays.

Masahiro Yoshii, Gemba Solutions Company, Panasonic Connect Co., Ltd.

In the words of a project manager

One-team, one-stop support for our customers

One of Panasonic’s strengths, and something customers have praised us for, is our system that provides one-stop support, from consulting, design and equipment production to installation, operation and maintenance, to bring their visions to life.

I think assigning staff for operation is the biggest issue customers face, particularly for a permanent projection mapping project like this. Someone has to turn the projectors on at the same time every day and press the start switch just when the projection is supposed to start. A show like TOKYO Night & Light is even more difficult since there are multiple displays each day with different content. We therefore use a digital signage solution called AcroSign to automate all of that work, creating a system where the projection mapping can be done with no on-site personnel. This means that there is practically nothing the organizers need to do, which not only reduces labor costs but prevents human error too.

1 The service’s contents vary by country or region. Please contact your local Panasonic sales representative for detailed information.

The Panasonic team who worked on the projection mapping on the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building