Smarter Spaces: Automating Your Divisible Conference Room
Transforming a single large conference room into two or more smaller, independently functional spaces—or back again—is a crucial feature for modern, flexible workplaces. But the technical setup for divisible conference rooms often involves cumbersome manual reconfigurations. What if the room could configure itself automatically?
At Array, we specialize in creating intelligent meeting environments that require minimal user interaction. Here's a look at how we use innovative technology to automate the process, ensuring a seamless experience every time.
Multi-Manufacturer Control and Processing
The secret to handling this complexity lies in our flexibility with control processors and powerful DSP’s. We don't limit ourselves to a single manufacturer; instead, we select the best-fit components for the job:
Control Processors: Our experience spans the industry's leading platforms, including Extron, Crestron, and Q-SYS (using their native control engine). This allows us to tailor the user interface and system logic to the client's existing infrastructure and preference.
Audio DSP: For flawless audio routing and mixing across multiple zones, we are proficient with all major DSP platforms, including devices from Biamp and the DSP capabilities within Extron, Crestron and Q-SYS . By leveraging the native routing features of these DSPs, we ensure that audio sources are cleanly segmented or combined depending on the zone configuration, guaranteeing optimal microphone and speaker performance for every meeting.
This agnostic approach to hardware selection allows Array to design a truly optimized, multi-zone system that is both reliable and perfectly suited to your space's unique division requirements. The system logic, while complex behind the scenes, always presents a simple, automatic experience to the end-user.
We would be happy to show you some of our large dividable rooms and what parts were used.
The Magic of Automation: Sensing the Divide
The key to a truly automatic divisible room lies in using sensors to detect the position of the movable wall, often called an air wall. This detection triggers the entire room system to reconfigure itself.
How It Works with Sensors:
We integrate specialized sensors to determine whether the air wall is deployed (room is divided) or retracted (room is combined).
Occupancy/Partion Sensors: Devices like the Crestron GLS-PART-CN (Partition Sensor) & Extron ECM S10 (Partition Sensor) are designed specifically for this purpose. They use contacts to send a signal to the control system, indicating the wall's status. When the wall is moved, the sensor state changes, and our control system instantly registers this physical division.
Once the control system receives the signal that the wall has moved, it kicks off a pre-programmed sequence of events to automatically set up the distinct meeting spaces. No user input is required—just the facilities team moving the wall!
Seamless Audio and Video Routing
The most critical function of an automated divisible room is ensuring that audio and video signals are routed appropriately for the new configuration.
Combined Room (Air Wall Retracted)
When the air wall is open, the system treats the entire area as one large room:
Video: All displays (TVs or projectors) show the same source, potentially linked through a single video matrix output.
Audio: Microphones, speakers, and sound bars across the entire space are activated and blended to function as a unified system.
Divided Rooms (Air Wall Deployed)
When the air wall is closed, the system instantly splits the audio/video path into two independent zones (e.g., Room A and Room B):
Video: Displays in Room A are automatically assigned to Room A's local input source, and displays in Room B are assigned to Room B's local input source.
Audio: The microphones and speakers for each side are logically segmented to ensure there is no audio bleed between the two private meetings. Microphones on the 'A' side only route to speakers on the 'A' side, and vice-versa.
This logic is all handled automatically based on the sensor's value, meaning the room is ready for use the moment the wall is locked into place.
Automated Function Triggers and Setup
Beyond A/V routing, the sensor's change in state can trigger a variety of functions to ensure the room is perfectly set up:
Display Power and Input: TVs or projectors are automatically turned on and set to the correct default input for each respective zone.
Power Sequencing: We can trigger the correct power sequencing for all equipment, protecting sensitive electronics and ensuring quick boot-up.
Room Levels: Lighting, shades, and HVAC levels can be adjusted based on the room status. For instance, when divided, the system might automatically dim the lights for a presentation in each smaller room.
Microphone Muting: If a single large table is split, the system can ensure the mics on the "wrong side" of the air wall are muted to prevent feedback or extraneous noise.
ECM S10
Manual Control for Flexibility
While automation is the goal, we understand that sometimes manual override is necessary. For this, Array can upload custom, tactile buttons onto the control touch panels in the room.
We ensure a consistent user experience by developing interfaces for all major platforms:
Crestron Touch Panels: Such as the TSW-770 or similar models.
Extron Control Panels: Any of the Extron control panels can host our custom interface.
Cisco Control Interfaces: Including the Cisco Navigator and other associated control units.
These touch panel controls provide a simplified "Divide" and "Combine" button, allowing users to manually switch the room mode in the rare event the automatic system needs an assist, or if the user wants to keep the wall in place but run the system in 'combined' mode for a unique setup.
By combining smart sensing with robust control programming, Array delivers divisible conference rooms that truly work for you, minimizing setup time and maximizing productivity.
Cost
When budgeting for a divisible conference room, it's essential to understand that the initial cost will be higher compared to a fixed, single-room setup. This increase is driven by two main factors: specialized hardware and advanced programming. On the hardware side, you are essentially purchasing components for multiple rooms (e.g., separate displays, microphones, and control endpoints for each zone), plus the specialized gear like the partition sensors and the larger audio/video distribution matrix needed to manage the zone switching. Furthermore, the complex logic required to instantly and reliably re-route audio, video, and control signals across multiple potential configurations requires significantly more sophisticated and time-intensive programming and commissioning. While the initial investment is greater, the enhanced flexibility, efficiency, and minimal manual intervention deliver a strong return on investment by maximizing the usability of your valuable floor space.