To bring a single screen online at WEC Energy Group, Daktronics of Brookings, South Dakota, collaborated with integrator ACP CreativIT / Camera Corner Connecting Point (CCCP) and fabrication group Advance Mounting & Design (AMD) to design an aesthetic and functional solution required for the application. The installation was completed late in 2022 at WEC Energy Group’s control room in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, near Green Bay.
Wisconsin Public Service, a subsidiary of WEC Energy Group, now uses the curved screen for the tracking of background systems and live data while also analyzing open media sources to ensure their personnel are informed of critical information as they check and adjust the power grid and related systems accordingly. This includes the ability to show current grid status, webcams, active data readings, presentations, upcoming weather events, open sources and any feeds from individual monitors cast onto one screen for all to see and ingest simultaneously.
The display features Integrated Matrix Device (IMD) LED technology consisting of red, green and blue pixels mounted in a 2×2 array to achieve extremely close pixel spacing. In this instance, a 1.2-millimeter pixel spacing brings the nearly 7-foot-high by 44-foot-wide display to life on a custom curved floor stand.
The wall is driven by an Extron Quantum Ultra videowall processor. The upgraded processing allows multiple operators to control the videowall at the same time.
The system includes eight wall presets. In addition to the default window arrangement for daily activities, an operator can select from among seven windowing presets to facilitate power grid monitoring during different types of events. An operator can also configure it to a personal custom arrangement. While there is no managerial workstation, a supervisory login enables them to easily reset window configuration from any workstation.
Each operator has the ability to select from among video and camera sources, broadcast feeds, and computer-generated graphics and data, as well as content accessed by another staff member. A standard videowall layout includes display of six connections from the main computer, one feed from a broadcast receiver, and an output from the workstation computer and/or a connected device. A feature that the operators find beneficial is output overlay, which enables identifying text such as source names and classification levels to be placed on one or more windows or the selected content.
The workstation PCs are loaded with Extron EMS Express Mobile Software, which facilitates videowall content selection and arrangement. They can arrange the content in resizable windows and apply optional borders in selectable colors to best suit the situation. When an emergency arises, this software also enables on-the-fly modifications to the window layout and source presentation without needing custom programming.
