Beacon 2.0

What do Taylor Swift’s the Eras tour, Disney on Ice, and BTS’ performance at the 2024 NBA All-Star Games have in common?

They all featured real time tracking by the CAST Blacktrax Beacon 2.0. BlackTrax is the industry-leading real-time tracking platform that enables lighting rigs, video projections, and special effects to dynamically follow performers as they move, and the Beacon is the hardware that makes it all possible. Worn by performers as a compact belt pack, it transmits precise 3D position data to the venue’s sensor network dozens of times per second, giving production teams the data they need to deliver flawless, synchronized spectacles that audiences remember for a lifetime.

With a spatial range of 1200 square meters and support for up to 85 belt packs operating simultaneously, the Beacon 2.0 is built for the biggest stages in the world. Those specs translate directly to creative freedom: larger casts, larger venues, and more complex choreography, all tracked reliably night after night without the production team breaking a sweat.

‟We couldn't be happier with the outstanding service and high-quality products provided by PDE. We've been working with PDE for over 10 years and their team has demonstrated excellent professionalism, responsiveness, and attention to detail since the beginning. The level of care and expertise they bring to every interaction has made a real difference in our product development and our operations. It's clear that PDE values their clients and takes pride in delivering not just products, but solutions specific to meet our needs. We highly recommend PDE to anyone seeking a trusted partner for quality, reliability, and outstanding service!”

— Aaron Densham, Director of Operations, CAST Group of Companies Inc.

CAST’s vision for the Beacon 2.0 reached across every discipline the product demanded: electronics, enclosure, firmware, interface, and radio certification. Bringing all of that under one roof was the point. Because one integrated team carried each piece, a decision in one discipline informed the others while the work was still moving.

• The PCB layout and the enclosure were designed in parallel, keeping the boards and housing aligned and reducing the costly revisions that separate tracks invite.
• The firmware was written alongside the hardware it runs on, keeping the Beacon reliable show after show.
• The interface was built to complement CAST’s industrial design, giving performers and techs the status they need at a glance.

The result is the product CAST set out to build, carried from concept to manufacturing by one team without the handoffs that fragment a complex program.