Bill Gates Computer Science Building - Stanford University

Introduction

General Projection Systems completed the advanced Audio Visual/Video System at the new William Gates Computer Science Center located at Stanford University.

Bill Gates, namesake of the new facility, spearheaded this project by donating $6 million for its construction.

Highlighting this state-of-the-art facility are a 200-seat auditorium and a 100-seat classroom. Both rooms feature teleconferencing capabilities via an interactive AV network, banks of monitors, and centralized control rooms.

Stanford intends to make these "electronic classrooms" available to University staff as well as visiting academics. This "Around the Globe" interaction will help establish a critical mass for the generation of new ideas.

Design

The classrooms themselves consist of high-output "light valve" projectors capable of displaying high resolution graphics as well as clear, crisp video.

Additionally, the soffet above the audience has six 27" monitors facing the lecturer, enabling him or her to interact with remote classrooms and students. Those classrooms located on the Stanford campus are networked to this facility via a complex fiber optic network.

Extron amplifiers and interfaces provide for signal conditioning and distribution within the facility.

The instructor controls this network through a user-friendly touch panel. This simplified AMX panel accesses basic source selection while more complex levels of signal switching are performed by trained systems operators via an AMX touch panel located in the control room.

The control room itself was designed for easy operations. With minimal movement the operator can control display devices such as large screen monitors, perform complex routing tasks, and adjust the classroom's light levels, volume, and screen settings.

Training in the use of this facility was provided by the technical staff of General Projection Systems. In addition to ensuring the automatic control of all systems, as well as fully integrating the complex routing and distribution systems, General Projection worked with Stanford to ensure the school was provided enough flexibility to accommodate future advances in technology.

Bill Gates stands before his namesake building at Stanford on the day of his General Projection-led tour.

Success

At the conclusion of the project, General Projection provided a tour of its systems to Mr. Gates (as well as Bill Hewlett and David Packard, cofounders of Hewlett-Packard, another General Projection customer).

The primary benefit of the system is the ease with which professors and presenters may interact with local and remote students and audiences. Automation takes the very complex signal routing and facility manipulation and makes it all work at the "touch of a button."

Classes (on campus and off) are routinely held in the facility which receives use day and night. Whether training a local class on a new software package or lecturing students in Russia, the smart classrooms and distance learning capability of Stanford has never been greater.

For more information on smart classroom and distance learning system design and integration or other education-related multimedia communications systems, please fill out our Information Request form or email us at Solutions@genproj.com