The project, a first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, highlights the power of collaboration, vision, and excellence
One can’t reflect on Red Rocket’s new state-of-the-art office space at the V&A Waterfront’s Cruise Terminal without highlighting the special features of our Command Centre. Resembling a facility straight out of a sci-fi movie, this futuristic hub of the Mothership is a hive of hi-tech activity that signifies how far we take our commitment. It is where the monitoring, assessment, and management of our renewable energy assets are all carried out in one space with unbelievable precision.
The assembly of the colossal LED display, overseen by highly skilled experts, revealed the behind-the-scenes intricacies of the 10.2m wide x 1.69m high masterpiece which stands as one of the symbols representing our DNA.
Capturing the essence of the display, Scott Pitchers, Pre-sales Assistant on behalf of MoveMaster, spoke of the structure’s design, which was specially tailor-made for Red Rocket’s various requirements for the Operations and Maintenance, and Asset Management teams. This is the first fully redundant 0.7 pixel pitch LED display, making Red Rocket a pioneer in the use of the technology.
“Previously, the pixel pitch available on the market was 0.9, now this is a 0.7 pixel pitch, and not only is it the first in Africa, but it’s the first to be used in the Southern Hemisphere. What makes this more exciting is that South Africa is the country bringing this on the market,” said Pitchers enthusiastically.
The display is made up of micro-LED modules working in synergy to deliver the best clarity possible. These are mounted on individual cabinets held by powerful magnets on its aluminium casing. Suction cups were used to carefully lift each module and place them in their cabinets.
“There are 17 rows of cabinets running across and five cabinets from top to bottom, making it 85 cabinets. Each cabinet encases eight LED modules. The system also features the newest technology on the market using a chip-on-board design rather than a surface-mounted device.”
The result of this unprecedented design is close to 29 million pixels delivering a crisp picture, which amounts to 331 600 pixels per cabinet from where O&M and Asset Management teams can have a window into our assets straight from the Mothership.
Ennio Di Palma, Head of Operations and Maintenance at Red Rocket, said: “Observing the market, this Command Centre technology is a significant leap ahead of what other IPPs currently have in place, and that Red Rocket can use to manage, monitor, analyse, and control in real time and on multiple assets in all the technologies.”
The Command Centre stands as a beacon of innovation in the renewable energy sector, setting the standard in the industry. It not only showcases Red Rocket’s commitment to excellence but also positions us as a leader in cutting-edge solutions, which we strive for each day as we advance our goals to transform the energy landscape.
With a major part of this project relying on the power of collaboration, we at Red Rocket would like to acknowledge our partners for their expertise and dedication to making this project a success. As part of our local partners, we thank MoveMaster, for providing the solution and leading the project; PlanetWorld, for their support and expertise in the providing us with the state-of-the-art Micro-LED screens; and Oculus, for conducting an in-depth ergonomic study and design, as well as providing us with a flexible software solution tailored to our operational use.
Highlighting our international partners, we thank Leyard for having our team over to present their products suitable for our needs, as well as showing us the fabrication process in China; and VuWall software house, for having our team over in Germany for formal certification and training.
