Montreal company lights up the crowd at the Super Bowl

When 60,000 people cheered in Allegiant Stadium on Sunday night during the Super Bowl, the wearable lights on each spectator made everyone part of the show.

Creating that magic starts at the Montreal offices of Pixmob.

“When you light up an audience, you get a reaction from the crowd. You get that excitement, that joy that’s coming from the crowd,” said Nicolas Coallier-Fournier, lead programmer at Pixmob.

The tech is used in all kinds of live events, from concerts to games.

Last month at the Verdun Auditorium, Pixmob lit up the home opener of the Professional Women’s Hockey League Montreal team.

And Sunday, it lit up the biggest sports event of the year.

“There’s always that proudness, we’re a proud company. We’re proud of what we do,” Coallier-Fournier told CTV News.

It’s a technology that’s ever-evolving.

“We have two proprietary protocols,” he explained. “One is radio frequencies, so it’s radio, [a] much simpler effect, and we also have patented the infra-red protocol.”

An infrared light in the stadium is pointed at any section of the audience, creating shapes. The wearable lights are attached to tuques, wristbands and badges.

Once the show is over, spectators give back the gadgets as they leave. Eventually, they’ll return to Montreal to be cleaned and recycled.

Caollier-Fournier is proud and humbled to be able to bring a bit of Montreal to stages around the world.

“We don’t take a bit for granted.”