Objective

The Energy Systems Catapult is a leading technology and innovation centre set up to help the UK navigate the transformation of our whole energy system and capture the new commercial opportunities created. The vision of the organisation is for a clean, intelligent, energy system that works for people, communities, and businesses.

The Catapult’s mission is to bring the worlds of industry, academia, and Government together in service of building consensus on the transition pathways to a future energy system and to accelerate the development of new technology-based products and services in the energy sector.

Energy Systems Catapult were looking to work with a company to complete the technology fit out their new workspace in Birmingham’s Cannon House and ensure that it was just as forward-thinking and efficient as their own service. Since Vanti strive to be as innovative as possible in the way we approach problems, we were an ideal partner for Energy Systems Catapult and really relished the opportunity to show them how we could create a truly Smart Workplace for them in Cannon House.

We were very pleased to be able to work with Energy Systems Catapult on this exciting project, as it was so in line with our own mission and goals. Our onsite and offsite teams worked closely in conjunction with one another to procure, build, and test systems before installing them on-site, and we followed our tried-and-tested methodology to make sure that this process was as efficient as possible.

Our careful approach ensured that we accurately specified and coordinated cables and connectors between our offsite and onsite teams so that most of our equipment was rolled in and plugged together in a matter of hours.

This was a sizeable commission for Vanti, and we were under quite tight deadlines because the Energy Systems Catapult team were keen to get into their new space as soon as possible, but we kept a close eye on our lead times and resources to ensure that the client was not disappointed.

• Installation of standard connectors in every room, featuring VGA, HDMI, and DisplayPort connectors. These were installed in a Hydraport that also included power and Ethernet ports, and a touchpanel that can be hidden away when not required.
• Polycom RealPresence Trio installed within every meeting room to provide a quick and easy way for group collaboration using Skype For Business.
• 7″ touchpanels outside each room to display the new room booking system, featuring Microsoft Exchange integration for ease of use with users able to see bookings from Microsoft Outlook.
• Two intuitive video conferencing systems were installed including cameras and dedicated microphones for crystal-clear audio and video conference calls.
• Wireless presentation devices were installed in various locations in order to reduce the need for cables and create a cleaner finish.
• 49″ and 55″ wall-mounted LED displays were fitted in the small and medium meeting rooms, with support for wireless presentations and integration with the video conference systems.

• The auditorium fit-out included four 55” LG display screens with less than 2mm bezel providing a real wow factor for presentations, along with a 75” Smart Kapp Pro,  high-quality pan, tilt, zoom (PTZ) camera and eight wireless gooseneck microphones. We also provided a lectern microphone and two lapel and two handheld microphones.
• An impressive display wall featuring three 46″ video wall screens and a OneLan Signage Player, allowing for different content to be shown in different areas of the screen, and the use of templates for quick content creation.
• Three SMART Kapp devices – two wall-mounted 75” SMART Kapp Pros, and one mobile device.
• A floor mounted 65″ LED Display for the reception area.
• Minimised cable requirements to create a clean interface; room connectivity systems were built to need only a single cable from table to screen.
• On-brand user interfaces (UI) where possible, including in Hydraport touchscreens and room booking panels.

Results

By pairing our skills with the requirements and big-picture goals of the Energy Systems Catapult team, we were able to use our audio-visual skills to create a truly innovative new workspace. As with all Vanti projects, we strove to future-proof our work as much as possible, reducing dependence between various elements so upgrading individual components wouldn’t require replacing entire systems.