World’s Largest Command and Control LED Display
Adrian J Cotterill, Editor-in-Chief
A new Sydney Trains Rail Operations Centre (ROC) now nearing completion includes a central control room featuring what is believed to be the world’s largest command and control LED display. The display was designed, engineered and installed by NanoLumens from a commission by Australian integration firm Critical Room Solutions and technology consultant Digital Place Solutions (DPS).
The NanoLumens 1.6mm Performance Series LED display measures 32m x 3.6m and contains 41 million pixels and the largest number of processors ever installed in an LED display.
Critical Room Solutions (CRS), a specialist in command and control room installations, and long-time NanoLumens technology consultant Digital Place Solutions (DPS), commenced discussions with Sydney Trains back in 2017 to determine the perfect display solution to allow the new control centre staff to effectively monitor all 178 stations on the Sydney Trains rail network.
John Kimenkowski, Technical Supervisor at CRS told us “Sydney Trains was initially looking at a cube wall for this installation because that is what they used in prior control centres. We presented the option of LED display technology for several reasons and, once we made that pitch, NanoLumens quickly became the solutions provider of choice. From initial inception, concept proof and demonstration, to manufacture and installation, the process has been relatively short at just over 12 months.”
Kimenkowski went on to note that, “Due to the long lifetime of components, low maintenance, low cost of ownership and small amount of space it consumes, we believe that fine pitch LED display technology is the future for many control room environments, and NanoLumens has a superior product and team capable of delivering what is needed for this industry.”
The super fine resolution design provides an entire display resolution of 19,200 pixels wide by 2,160 pixels high, equivalent to 20 windows of native Full HD resolution or 5 windows of 4K resolution, all without the need for scaling.
The ROC is located near the Green Square Station in Alexandria, an inner-city suburb of Sydney.
The NanoLumens display blends perfectly with the new centre’s futuristic interior design, and is integral in enabling Sydney Trains’ expert train controllers to monitor the entire rail system, controlling the trains, tunnels and platforms to deliver a safe and reliable journey. The entire length is suspended for ease of viewing by the controllers, some 6,900kg in weight and creates an open feel for the space which would have been closed and restricted had a floor mounted cube wall been used.
According to Tony Eid, Sydney Trains Executive Director, “Our new Rail Operations Centre is more than bricks and mortar, it’s a symbol about how we operate trains and provide real time customer information to improve the customer experience. For the first time in our history we have managed to bring together and consolidate multiple control centres in the one location.”
The consolidation from six different locations that were being utilized to monitor Sydney Trains’ entire operation to one central location at the ROC will drastically change the way the rail system manages day-to-day operations. And at the heart of it all is one extremely large NanoLumens display that provides critical information clearly, quickly and effectively.
DPS Co-Founder Gerry Thorley told us “The NanoLumens wall, which is what this display really is, is central to the main operations of this command and control centre for the entire rail network. The central control room houses about 100 staff on the floor. Essentially, it’s like a NASA command and control centre and operates 24 hours a day, every day, and this display provides critical rail information.”
Work is steadily progressing on the Sydney Trains ROC facility as the project moves closer to its opening in 2019. However, commissioning of the new display facilities by CRS at the new control centre are already running smoothly.
CRS specializes in the physical and audio-visual aspects of any environment where technology and people come together. Our specialist expertise are in the design and management of control room solutions and delivering complete turnkey technical rooms, from sourcing and installing technical furniture such as control room consoles and industrial desks to delivering audio-visual systems including overview screens and video walls. We work with architects, project managers, PLC/SCADA integrators, end users and stakeholders to create market-leading solutions for customers in Australia, New Zealand and Asia.
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