A full city block wide, Gulliver’s Gate is a technologically advanced, interactive and immersive world of miniatures located in the heart of Times Square, New York.
The 50,000-square-foot exhibition is made up of miniature models that represent places in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. The models span four rooms and are lit up by thousands of LED light bulbs controlled by a similar system to what’s used on Broadway.
The Challenge
One of the most fascinating places is the control room where engineers monitor the thousands of moving parts in the exhibit. The video wall is also used to display the output of security cameras along with software used to control the trains, cars, and airport activity. The unique open area allows the operators to face out to the public, interact and answer questions.
“There is no effort to hide technology from visitors,” said Matthew Coté, the Chief Technology Officer for Gulliver’s Gate. “We want them to see the computers that live under the table. We want them to see the blinking lights because that’s part of the fun. That’s part of what makes nerds like me go, ‘Wow, how do they do that?’”
The Solution
Vistacom, Inc. furnished the video wall display system with eight Christie Flat Panel LED displays which also utilizes the Christie Phoenix video processing platform. The Christie collaboration platform allows operators within the control room area to quickly visualize the right information in support of their day-today operations.
Gulliver’s Gate relies on a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, which communicates with programmable logic controller (PLC) computing devices scattered about the exhibition space. The PLCs communicate directly with the models. If something goes wrong somewhere in the block-long exhibit space, the SCADA system will warn techs who’ll be sent out to the floor to fix it.
Using a custom R.P. Visuals ceiling-mounted solution, the video wall is supported by a structurally sound installation as well as precision mounting and alignment of the monitors. The mount also maintains the approximate 5°-7° curvature requested by the client.
The Results
“The term we often use, “common operational picture,” truly comes alive in the Gulliver’s Gate control room,’ said Dan Gundry, Managing Director of Vistacom Control Room Solutions. “This system integration provides operators with the real-time information they need to improve decision-making and responsiveness for a wide range of both normal business and emergency situations.”
