Artistic Design Objectives: The objective of this design was to create an over the top entertainment experience suitable to one of the biggest and most elaborate arena rock tours of the time. Known for stadium size rock and roll spectacles, Bon Jovi’s show designer TAIT recruited ABB and andyRobot to design the robotic entertainment elements for the tour. Named, The Circle tour, the stage was circular with the audience on all sides and the robots allowed the video panels to be moved dynamically and to face the audience in 360 degrees.[2]

Designed to promote the 2009 release of the album, The Circle, the artistic design of the performance stage and concert experience sought to bring that metaphor to life by using circular elements including an elliptical stage with audience on all sides. The five RoboScreens were placed to form a continuous circular screen behind the band and  were also programmed to spin around to face the audience to the side of and behind the band. Each robot moved a custom designed LED panel that weighs 700 lb and is comprised of 24 individual sub-panels arranged in a six column by four row grid.[3] The screens were fed by multiple cameras set up throughout the concert venue and that footage was mixed with a combination of pre-programmed 3D graphics and fully rendered, real time effects synched to the beat of the music.

Bon Jovi performances are known for over the top stage shows, lighting and video effects and to achieve a new level of entertainment theatrics for this tour, designers used the largest ABB IRB 7600 robots with a custom built matrix of video screens combined to provide a 6’ x 9’ video image for each of the robots to manipulate. A clear layer of Perspex plastic was placed over the screen to allow them to be positioned in the form of a staircase and climbed on by the performer without damaging the displays. The robot motion, programmed using the inverse kinematics capabilities of Robot Animator was leveraged to create life like synchronized motion for each song performed by the band. Custom robot motion was developed to enhance the performance of specific songs such as positioning the screens in the shape of smiles and frowns. As described by andyRobot, "We were able to take the ABB robots out of the factory and turn them into rock stars mainly through the power of the IRC5 controller and its ability to accept the precise movement established in Robot Animator. The programming we are doing for The Circle Tour could bring a totally new thought pattern to be used in advanced manufacturing applications in the future. This entertainment application may allow it to break through.” [4]