MEETING ROOM
Digital ecosystems for collaborative workspaces
We design Meeting Rooms that integrate AVC hardware, software and automation solutions to physical environments, dedicated to sharing, collaboration and comparison.
R.C.M. Costruzioni - Gruppo Rainone, one of the emerging groups in the national panorama of construction companies, having its core business in the sector of large infrastructure works and in the realisation of important production facilities, established its operative base in a building located in the port area of Ravenna and undertook a renovation of it, entrusting us with the design and fitting out of their boardroom, conceived from the beginning as the nerve centre of the on-site activity and a connection point with the Salerno headquarters.
The design concept was based on the client's twofold operational need: to facilitate communication and collaboration between the staff members at Ravenna’s branch and, at the same time, to ensure that the on-site team could be in constant contact with the Company's headquarters and partners.
There was a need for a versatile and complete apparatus, capable of supporting both soft meetings and video conferences, making content sharing and the connection of participants' devices simple and immediate. Once both the site surveys and the acoustic analysis of the room had been carried out, we designed an architecture consisting of an 86" Iiyama Infrared Touch Display, two K-Array audio speakers, placed on either side of it, a Panasonic camera and two Biamp microphones positioned on the ceiling in correspondence of the room table. Through the room control PC, located in the dedicated rack along with the rest of the devices that make up the system, various meeting modes can be selected, with the possibility of choosing the platforms with which to connect with external participants. A Cynap completes the equipment, enabling content sharing in BYOD wireless mode. This allows participants to connect their devices without having to download applications, connect cables or enter passwords, simplifying and speeding up the workflow.
The project and set-up of the meeting room was developed through a constant exchange of information and ideas with De.Tales Atelier in Milan, which took care of the room design. The devices and equipment were chosen with the aim of minimising the impact of their installation. The visible devices were the subject of a research aimed at combining the best performance with an aesthetic that had to be coherent with the furniture’s design. In this respect, a particularly relevant element was the work carried out by our technicians during the preliminary stages of the project, when the room was still in its unfinished state: the whole structure of the audio/video and automation systems was designed and then installed even before the spaces were finished, so that those systems were fused with the structure itself, creating a complex infrastructure that is there in all its power, but cannot be seen.
The result is an integrated system with no visible elements as they are hidden in the counter walls and under-floor tracks, but always accessible via special manholes located in discrete areas, which allow non-invasive but efficient intervention when needed.
To complete the meeting room, we implemented an automation system that enables to control of the lights and roller shutters via a Crestron RMC4 control unit, which also allows the control of the camera and sound system, among other things. The lighting system includes a series of flush mounted LED spotlights whose power supply units have been connected to the control unit, making them remotely controllable via a Crestron Din-dali interface and thus allowing users to choose the number of spotlights to be switched on and also adjust the intensity of their light. To control the natural lighting coming from the meeting room’s windows, a roller shutter movement system was also implemented using Smart-in motors and a Nice control unit. All equipment is connected to the Company network thanks to a switch configured by our technicians that makes every element installed in the room controllable via Ipad. With a simple touch, users can transmit commands to the Crestron RMC4 control unit, the artificial brain of the whole system, and choose which videoconferencing platform to use, display content by selecting different video sources and adjust the lighting. The system allows, through a single video conference interface, to make/receive video calls and collaborate during a digital meeting, regardless of the video conferencing platform used by the other participants. By means of a simple Ipad placed on the meeting room’s table, it is possible to manage all the Unified Communication and Collaboration tools (UCC tools) and select the different devices described above, enabling the various work teams to carry out their activities in an intuitive and truly collaborative way. The tablet interfaces were also graphically customised by our team to match the client's corporate identity, for a customised result in all aspects.
Our activity is never limited to the supply and installation of devices and systems, for us a project is completed when the digital workspace is ready for use. This is why we take action when the spaces are still under construction, so that we can take meticulous care of the wiring and suggest improvements to the installers that may be useful for the overall functioning of the system.In order to assure the operational continuity of the boardroom even in case of anomalies, the entire infrastructure has been put under UPS and can always be remotely monitored by our NOC, which can quickly detect any malfunctions and restore the room in the shortest possible time. There are also HDMI cables that can connect the devices to the video conferencing and collaboration system in case the wi-fi network is not operational. In this project we also paid special attention to room acoustics. The entire system, consisting of microphones and audio loudspeakers, was completely configured according to the characteristics of the room and the type of activity to be carried out within it, performing a meticulous work of sound treatment.The duly configured modules within the Byamp Tesira system are able to sort, treat and process the audio signals coming from the microphones, eliminating background noise, interference signals and echoes. This enables clear and immediate communication, which is essential for successful video conferences, especially when there are a large number of remote participants. The audio speakers were also tuned to ensure a clean and natural sound, also thanks to equalisation, which is essential in the case of a room without sound insulation. To further improve the performance of the audio speakers and make the sound even more complete, we placed a subwoofer right under the table, enriching the bass.
R.C.M. Costruzioni found a turnkey solution and was immediately able to carry out its activities within the meeting room, inaugurating a truly operational site.
We design Meeting Rooms that integrate AVC hardware, software and automation solutions to physical environments, dedicated to sharing, collaboration and comparison.
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