Braking System for an Automated Luminaire

A luminaire comprising:

• a luminaire head comprising one or more optical devices;
• a movement system mechanically coupled to the luminaire head and configured to rotate the luminaire head around an axis of rotation, the movement system comprising:
• a motor coupled via a first mechanical coupling to the luminaire head and configured to cause rotation of the luminaire head about the axis of rotation;
• a braking system coupled via a second mechanical coupling to a shaft of the motor and configured to prevent rotation of the shaft of the motor;
• and
• a control system electrically coupled to the motor, the braking system, and non-volatile memory, the control system configured to receive an Engage Brake command via a data link and to engage the braking system in response to the Engage Brake command by:
• determining whether the motor is rotating;
• causing rotation of the motor to stop electrically when it is determined that the motor is rotating;
• determining whether the motor has stopped rotating;
• engaging the braking system when it is determined that the motor has stopped rotating;
• storing in the non-volatile memory a current absolute position of the luminaire head;
• and
• removing power from the motor.