Georgia Power Storm Center Emerges From Its Olympic Games Command Center

RGB Spectrum Provides ComputerWall Display Processor

The Georgia Power Company was named as the Official Power Source for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. The utility needed to monitor the flow of power to all Olympic venue sites, and track the Olympic environment, everything from weather to traffic flow to media reports.

In order to effectively coordinate this avalanche of information, Georgia Power enlisted the help of Insight Research, an audio visual systems dealer, to design and build the Olympic Games Command Center (OGCC). Central to the OGCC was RGB Spectrum's ComputerWall® multi-screen display processor.

ComputerWall is a multi-screen processor that magnifies and splits high resolution computer images across an array of projectors. The system works with all high-resolution computers, easily connecting to the RGB outputs of virtually all workstations and PCs. The system is operating system and software independent. It is designed to create wall-sized computer-based displays with the brightness and resolution required for large venues. The system has been successfully used in control rooms, dispatch centers, and simulators.

During the Olympics, the OGCC was manned around the clock for four weeks. Georgia Power had monitoring equipment at each event site intelligent electronic meters equipped with wireless communications. Operators stationed in the OGCC could know instantly if there was a problem. The OGCC was also the single point of communications for anything regarding the power systems grid to ACOG (Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games), the official Olympic committee. The Center compiled all information on weather, traffic and power outages that could impact the Olympics and reported regularly to Georgia Power management and to ACOG.

Project Manager Larry Barto of Georgia Power, picked the ComputerWall system for its ability to handle a variety of computer inputs simultaneously. "We were already familiar with RGB Spectrum products and after a demonstration by Insight Research of the ComputerWall we were sold." From its state of the art command center, Georgia Power gave a gold medal performance, allowing only 9 seconds of power interruption throughout the 17-day event, and achieving their top priority to "keep the lights on".

Today, the Center has been transformed into a Storm Center. Its main purpose is to manage power restoration efforts. When bad weather approaches, the Center is activated to track the storm path and then oversee the recovery operations. The ComputerWall is used to drive an array of four projectors which display weather radar, computer programs tracking repair crews, as well as video feeds from weather channels and news broadcasts. The Storm Center is also used for training and conference activities.

RGB Spectrum® is a leading designer and manufacturer of videographic and multimedia hardware subsystems. Products include the View™ family of video windowing systems, the RGB/Videolink® line of scan converters, the DGx™ digital recording system, and SuperWall™, ComputerWall® and MediaWall® multi-screen display controllers. RGB Spectrum is based in Alameda, California, and can be reached at 510-814-7000 and on the internet at http://www.rgb.com.

press contact: carol marcus
director, corporate communications
tel: (510) 814-7000

for pictures in 300 dpi format
send request to carol@rgb.com