How HELIO is made.

A mirrored sphere of light: two coated domes, one ring of LEDs.

Upper domeCoatingon the insideLED ringControllerDust cuffLower domeYoke mount
Illustrations, not to scale. The reflections are drawn by the HELIO simulator.

How are the domes formed?

  1. Each dome starts as a flat sheet of clear acrylic.
  2. Heated until it is soft, the sheet is formed into a half sphere.
  3. Its rim stays flat. That rim is the flange, where the two halves will meet.
A flat sheet of clear acrylicHeatThe rimstays flatClear acrylicFlangeTwo per sphere

How does a dome become a mirror?

  1. The coating is applied by vacuum deposition. Each dome goes into a chamber, and the air is pumped out.
  2. Coating material leaves its source and settles inside the slowly turning dome.
  3. The clear dome is now a mirror that still lets light through: dichroic, or semi-transparent.
Coating materialAir outVacuumCoatingon the insideThe dome turns slowly

Where does the ring come from?

  1. The ring starts flat: curved circuit boards, side by side on one panel.
  2. LEDs are placed along each board: about 165 for every metre of ring, each its own pixel.
  3. The segments are broken out and joined into one ring. One of them carries the controller.
One panel, many segmentsController

How does each LED get its colour?

  1. Power arrives through one USB-C cable, from a plug supply or an in-wall socket.
  2. The controller sends the colours as one stream. Each LED keeps the first colour it receives and passes the rest on.
  3. So every LED is its own pixel, in red, green, blue and warm white.
Red, green, blueand warm whitePower inControllerColour data

How does it come together?

  1. The ring is set on the flange of one dome.
  2. The second dome closes over it, and the ring is held between the two flanges.
  3. A dust cuff wraps the gap between them to keep dust out.
DomeFlangeLED ringCoating, on the insideDust cuff

Why does it look endless?

  1. Warm white light leaves an LED at the equator and meets the coating.
  2. Part passes through, to your eye. The rest reflects at the same angle and goes round again, a little dimmer.
  3. The LED shines in many directions. Each meets the coating at its own angle, and leaves in its own colour.
  4. So you see the ring again and again, deeper and fainter. Each ring is light that left at another angle.
LEDwarm whiteOne colourpasses throughThe restreflectsOther directions,other coloursThe light pathWhat you see

Why warm white?

  1. A dichroic coating is a stack of very thin clear layers. It absorbs no light; it sorts it. Some colours pass, the rest reflect, and the angle decides which.
  2. Warm white holds every colour, so at each angle a different part of it leaves. One white ring becomes rings of different colours.
  3. A red, green or blue LED gives one narrow band. The coating can pass it or send it back, but has nothing to split: red stays red.
  4. Hence the fourth emitter. Through the semi-transparent mirror warm white stays warm white; through the dichroic coating it comes out in colour.
Outside, to your eyeInside the sphereDichroic coatingthin clear layersWarm white: every colourRed: one narrow bandSemi-transparent mirrorDichroic

How is it mounted?

  1. At home it stands on a tripod or a clear desk ring, or hangs from the ceiling.
  2. At events it goes on a light stand or a tripod, or is hung.
  3. A half-circle yoke holds the sphere at its flange and screws onto the stand. From 100 cm, spheres hang.
On a tripodOn a clear desk ringFrom the ceilingOn a light stand

Two domes, one ring, one cable. Now see it lit.

Real footage, sizes and prices are on the two pages for where it will stand.

HELIO at homeHELIO at events
Turn it yourself in the 3D simulator

A sphere in mind?

Tell us the space and the plan. Configuration, feasibility and lead time are confirmed for your enquiry in an individual offer. Sending this places no order, no reservation and no delivery date.

Or book a 30-minute video call

If the form is unavailable, email [email protected].

What is still being verified?

Assembled weight, electrical requirements, mounting and outdoor suitability, and fire classification (including B1) are not yet verified for the complete product. These must be assessed for your intended use as part of an individual offer.

The drawings on this page are illustrations, not to scale, and simplify each step.