Control rooms are essential to the operation of fast-paced and information critical environments. But, how much do you know about them? Do you know how many types of control rooms there are? Maybe even the equipment or its importance? If the answer is no, don’t panic.
At Dexon, we know how important it is for you to have total clarity when investing in equipment for your control room. So, that’s why we’re going to give you a comprehensive guide to all things control rooms today so that you can make your decisions with confidence.
Let’s go!
What is a control room?
Before we get too excited with the specifics, let’s go over the basics. A control room is typically a large space where the operations of a business or industry can be monitored or controlled via remote systems.
Control rooms can be monitored by control room operators who have comprehensive knowledge of all the systems within the room and can deploy resources and monitor operations via CCTV cameras and monitors displaying different sections of the workplace.
Control room operators may also have access to systems that record productivity within a business, meaning that business owners can keep a close eye on their performance from one single place.
To a business, a control room is almost like a command center and while you may think of some sort of spy movie when we say that, we think of it more as the brain behind an operation. Control rooms can be present in almost all industries, particularly those that rely on fast-paced resource distribution and are mission-critical.
Control rooms can be as advanced as you want them to be, so if you want them to just contain a few basic monitors that display camera footage from around your business, go right ahead! If you want to get super technical and have a mission control room with video walls, processors and matrixes, then you’re in luck! The world is really your oyster with control rooms.
What types of control rooms are there?
Control rooms are all around us and you’ve probably come across a few before without even knowing it. Essentially, industries that rely on time-critical tasks that operate 24/7 probably have a control room to keep an eye on all their operations.
When you think of a control room, you probably think of an emergency services control room with call handlers frantically guiding police, ambulance and fire services to necessary locations.
Congratulations, you’ve just thought of a vast range of control room types, so you know a lot more than you think!
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If you want a bit more guidance, we’ve supplied some examples below to help you understand the uses of a control room:
Police control room
In a police control room, operators and systems have all the power. Ok, that might be a bit dramatic, but to a degree, it’s true. Operators take calls from the public via remote systems and contact the relevant emergency departments for assistance on the scene.
A police control room is a time-critical environment, so it’s important for all systems to perform at the optimum levels for reliability and speed. This environment acts as a coordinating point for police officers, so technological systems like processors and video walls displaying locations and CCTV footage have to run in sync with the operator.
Police control rooms ensure that the tech they invest in is sophisticated enough to handle these kinds of projects, so if this sounds like something you need, then don’t delay!
Airport control room
You probably already know that planes require control rooms to know when it's safe to land, what patches of weather to avoid and how not to crash into other aircraft while in the sky. These control rooms, often known as air traffic control, act as the pilot's eyes.
During peak times, there can be up to 20,000 planes in the sky at one time, so it’s important for control room operators to communicate constantly with pilots to ensure there are no nasty accidents. So, how do they do this? Well, operators use sophisticated equipment like video walls, processors and monitors to keep a constant eye on the sky.
Remotely connected to satellites, processors display all objects within a certain radius of an aircraft. This helps operators direct the pilot to safety by either ascending or descending.
Air traffic control rooms may use sophisticated systems like the DXN6800 14U. This highly powerful process is the best option for AV users looking for a high speed, highly reliable system that is perfect for mission-critical environments like this!
What kind of equipment should I use in a control room?
Now you’ve got an idea of what a control room environment is like, let’s talk about some of the equipment that control rooms use! This might help you construct your own control room. Here are some things you might need:
Displays
Control rooms heavily benefit from a decent display system that displays all your mission-critical information from a single source. Display systems like video walls are a great choice for control rooms wanting to condense lots of information into one single area! Operators can do this by controlling multiple monitors via a video wall controller and displaying different information on separate screens.
Processors
If you’ve got extensive operational needs that require display technology, you’re probably going to need a video wall controller or processor like the DXN6800 Video Wall Controller that can transform your control room into a high-tech experience! Processors essentially act as the brains behind display technology and help the user display information to the desired scale, in the correct position and in the best quality it can.
This is a fantastic option for users wanting to display multiple snippets of information via a video wall or large display. Processors give users more options over what they can display. For example, processors can connect to a remote network and display your CCTV footage from all angles on multiple monitors. This means you can have eyes everywhere and stay savvy on the security front.
Conferencing equipment
If your control room relies on remote communication like an emergency services control room, you may benefit from some conferencing equipment. With conferencing equipment, distance isn’t a problem! Operators can contact clients via phone or video chat, dispatching critical resources from remote locations!
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How to choose the right equipment
When selecting your control room equipment, it’s important to consider your uses. There’s no point in investing in the expensive kit if you’re not going to use it, so make sure your selection criteria is based on your operational needs.
For example, if your business relies on visual displays from remote sources like CCTV cameras, it’s probably a good idea to research the market for reliable video wall technology and good quality processors. With this, you can create high-quality displays that are fast, accessible and reliable.
In fact, at Dexon we have a range of top quality video wall controllers and processors that can meet all your AV needs. Why not check out our website to see if we can create your perfect control room today!
