LAKE ORION — When an executive briefing center at a Fortune 100 company needed to replace its aging control system, 3Stage Design selected HRS Control’s (Embedded Control Server) ECS-Raptor. The new system’s Internet Protocol (IP) based design proved to be a key advantage as the new system was put to use.
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3Stage Design offers design, fabrication and installation services for corporate executive briefing centers and exhibits from its offices in Atlanta and Washington, D.C. Recently tasked with replacing a client’s large center control system, they turned to HRS for their solution.
“We started by putting the project to bid as we always do in order to get a gut check,” says Emile Wolsky, Vice President at 3Stage Design. “We turned to all the big names as well as HRS for this RFP.
“Most of the control systems under consideration were hardware-based which required us to update lots of equipment and reconfigure our current rack systems,” he notes. “HRS’s UDC and Raptor platform offered a more favorable solution because its primary design and command structure are based off of Internet Protocol (IP) commands. This allowed for HRS to design a system that was more software driven than hardware driven, providing us with a more stable system and a more affordable price.”
3Stage Design dismantled the client’s old control system and installed the Raptor, whose controls are activated by wall-mounted button panels and by Apple iPads. “The client has a video hallway, theater and many interactive exhibits that all need some form of control. The HRS system is also on a scheduler allowing for automatic startups and shuts downs. In addition, we can easily control various exhibits as well as audio, lighting and video throughout the entire center through the touch of an iPad,” Wolsky explains.
He hails the Raptor’s energy-saving properties and the ability for the programmer to have remote access to the system. “We don’t need to send a tech on-site to make changes,” he says.
Installed earlier this year, the Raptor has been “working great,” Wolsky reports. “Our client is very happy with it, especially with its flexibility and the ease of making changes. They love how the Raptor functions overall and how they can easily control exhibits that weren’t controllable before since it’s now affordable to put more exhibits online.”
Wolsky calls HRS Control “the way of the future. More and more equipment these days is coming IP-ready. Simple networking and protocols turn a heavy equipment-based approach from years past into a flick of the switch.”
He adds that support from HRS Control has been “great — they have been very responsive to us.”
