INlfRin B . '·'-"]

'

Silicon Graphics

Electroho1T11e V'ideo proj

and

a lab vvith

STORY BY

M ARILOU V A U G H AN

INTER I OR DES I GN BY

R OSANNE SACHSON,

A S I D, CERTI F I ED

I NTER I OR D ESIG N ER

P H OTOGRAPt-tY B Y

GR EY CRAWFORD

bird's-eye IT1Iaple vvood

H lending high -end computers and video/data projectors with

- a warm decor isn't easy. For Rosanne Sachson, a Beverl y H ills ­

based interior designer of both res idential and commercial properti es,

it was a welcome challenge. Instead of the staid des igps and cool co l­

ors of similar government-backed sites, the JPL Fl ight Sys tem Testbed

facil ity in Pasadena, ,Cal ifo rni a, is rich with wood and "subtle tones .

"Although the Jet Propulsio n LC~bo ratory has always had tes t facil­

ities for various components and subsystems , this is the first time we

have established an integrated testbed for system-level development

of an enti re spacecraft," says Kan e C asani, manager of the company 's

Fligh t Projects Implemen tati o n D evelopment Office, and a d riving

force behind the creatio n of the new fac ility. "T he Flight System

Testbed is a magnificent blend of ergonom ic design with high -tech­

nology aerospace engineerin g, provid ing a world -class, computer­

assisted design and test

facility for spacecraft hard­

ware and software ."

A li t t le histo ry puts

Casani's enthusiasm in per­

spective. During the 1960s

and '70s, missions in to space

rel ied on extensive analysis

and long developmen t cycles.

These projects often culmi ­

nated in pairs of spacecraft lau nched simultaneously to guaran tee that

if o ne malfunctio ned, the m ission could still be completed by a redun ­

dant system. T he frugali ty of the current decade no longer permits this

6 2 /\U D IO Vmrp I N T ER I O RS

"We are ~ein~

c~allen~e~ to

~eve l o~ new

te c~nolo~ies on

ti~~t sc~e~ules an~

limite~ ~u~~ets."

luxury. T he task these days requires rapid sys­

tem design, early evaluation of new technolo­

gies and quick problem solving.

"We are being cha llenged to develop small,

li ghtweight spacecraft using new technologies

o n t ight sc hedules and limited budgets,"

Casani expla ins . "The testbed is designed to

support that goa l. "

T he FST does this by allowing mission-spe­

cific components to be tested and corrected dur­

ing various stages of the ir development. Com­

ponents, independently and in unison, can be

connected to a testbed, which simulates the rest

of the spacecraft, creating a "virtual" spacecraft.

Poor functionality sends a component back for

revision; good results make it a candidate for

space-fl ight, thus reducing both cost and risk.

The Fligh t System Testbed, a 2,300 square ­

foot facility, packs a large payload of equip ­

ment into a sleek environm ent. Most impres­

sive are two El ectrohome Marquee 8000

high-resolution video/data pro)ectors with hor­

izontal scan rates that can accommodate work­

sta tion graph ics. T hese high-end projectors

and other componen ts were chosen after

extensive testi ng by JPL's Audi ovisual Services

Office, which instal led the AN system. Supe­

rior computer graphics projection won Elec­

trohome a place in the presentation room at one end of the facility, where one is paired with

an 80- inch Stewart screen, and in the testbed

area where another projects onto a 1 00-inch

The openness of the presentation room (above) bears little resemblance to other aerospace

test labs, where top-secret government projects are born. A close-up of the room (opposite)

reveals two Panasonic industrial VCRs, a Panasonic video signal transcoder, a pair of

Folsom Otto computerjRCB scan converters and a Crown audio amp.

AuDIO V JOEO I N T E R I OR' S 6 5

An Electro home video/data projector, capable of haudlit-tg workstation graphics, is ceiling mounted 1:n.

the presenta tion room (a.bove) to COl/Serve space. A 3 7-inch Mitsubishi monitor is Jlanked by a pair

of 26- inch relatives; i~t addition to projecting real-tit-ne video, all are capable of ha11.d/ing computer

images. A sleek Polycom audiocOi'iferencing station rests in the center of the couferwce table.

Monitors, ro~tiug and computer iuteifacing equipment (opposite) are easily accessible from a well­

lit, e11closed pathway built behi11d the presentation room.

AUDIO VIDEO I N TERIORS 6 6

Stewart screen on t he north wall. An additional

48-inch Stewart screen is posit ioned to one

side of the presentation room and can be used

for other types of projection .

Seventeen Ext ron RCB-120 workstation inter­

faces allow computer-generated RCB images from

any of the Sun or Si licon G raphics workstations

(along with the PCs and the Macs) ringing the

I ,450-square-foot lab to be input into the AIV sys­

tem. "That's the black box that does the trick­

that makes the computer compatible with video

screens," says Cary Kayye, Extron Electronics'

vice preside nt of sales. Kayye points out that the

film Jurassic Park and the upcoming Warner Bros.

movie Disclosure both utilize Exrron computer/

video-based products to c reate a vi rtual real ity.

Computer images can be routed to the Elec­

trohome Marquis projectors and to three Mit­

subishi color monitors in the presentation area. If someone outside the testbed wants to see the

computer output, two Folsom Otto 9500 scan

converters process the computer RCB video into

standard NTSC signals that can be recorded on

videotape for viewing in other offices or facilities,

or output to the JPL closed-circuit TV system.

The 256-square-foot presentation area fea­

tures a d istinctive wooden , wave-shaped wall

with component niches for two Panasonic S­

VHS VCRs, two Folsom sca n conve rters, and

Installation by JPL~ Audiovisual Services Office.

remote control s for two routing switchers.

The righ t niche also contains a Panasonic

Y/C, NTSC and RCB transcoder, and a C rown

075 audio ampli fie r. A Sigma 16 x 8 RCB

video switcher routes computer graphics with ­

out audio to scan con ­

vertors or video/data

projectors and com ­

puter m o ni to rs. A

Sigma 8 X 8 2-cha nnel

audio/2-channel vi deo

switcher handles both

Y/C component video

and stereo audio to and

from the VCRs, moni­

tors, scan converter out ­

puts, c losed-circuit TV

system and surveillance

camera. A pair of Bose

10:!FXX speakers in the

presentation area, and

another pa ir in the

testbed, deliver stereo

sound to t he facility.

The unique feature of this system is a 486-

based maste r A/V control computer, with a 16

Port Dig i-Board , which is networked with a ll

of the testbed computers. It can ra ise and

lowe r all of the projection screens, connect

VIDEO/DATA PROJECT ION Electrohome Marquee 8000 high·r~solution

video/data projectors (2)

CONTRO L & SECURITY SYSTEMS AMX 3-channel RS-232 to IR interface AMX SX-16+ RS 232 to replay

INTERFAC ING EQUIPMENT Extron RCB-1 20 computer

workstation interfaces ( 17) Sigma 16 x 8 RCB video switcher Sigma 8 X 8 2-channcl audio/

2 -channd video switcher

Stewart Filmscreen 48-1 80- and I 00-inch screens

Panasonic AC- 1970 S-VI IS VCRs (2)

AUDIO SYSTEM Bose 102FXX high-fidelity speakers (4)

RTS/Telex 465 microphone preamplifi~r Crown D-75 2-channcl audio amplifiers (2)

ADC 96-position audio jack field ADC 48-position video jack field Polycom Soundstrcam audio·

conferencing system

closure imcrfacc

On Command IR to RS-232 interfaces (2)

Sanyo VDC-2972 color surveillance camera

COMPUTERS & MONITORS Sun Microsyscems Sparkstations (9) Silicon Graphics Iris Crimson

VGXT workstations (3) . Apple Quadras (2)

486 IBM-compatible PCs w/16 Port Digi-Board (2)

Mitsubishi SMR-2601 26-inch monitors (2)

Mitsubishi XC-3725 37-inch monitor

Panasonic UPT-2 Y/C, NTSC,

RCB transcoder Cadco NTSC RF modulator Nova NT SC to RGB decoder Folsom O tto 9500 Computer RGB

scan converters (2)

Truevision computer video

capture boards (2)

High-powered Su11 a11d

Silicon Graphics

workstations and 486

PCs (above) are

networked with the

audiovisual presentation

equipment. A second

Electrohome projector

and Steu;art screen

enable en,~ineers to make

presentations directly

_from their testbed

workstation area (right).

any audio/video/RGB source to any compa t i­

ble destination , and control the video/data

projectors and color monitors. And because

every computer in the tes tbed can "talk" to

the control computer, all workstations have

full control of the A/V system.

An AMX three-channe l RS-232 interface

all ows the control computer to select differ ­

ent functions on the color mo ni tors in the

p rese n tation room. An

On Command interface

allows someone in the

presentation room to

press a handheld IR

remote and control cer­

ta in functions on an

IBM -compatible PC or

Apple Quad ra in the

testbed area. It is appropriate that

bo ld think in g should

get enGouragement, not

o nly from equipm ent ,

but from a workpla ce

where people and ideas ca n circu late free ly.

Much of the credit for making this happen

belongs to Rosanne Sachson. " [ worked with

Kane Casani , who is a 'future thinker,"' Sach­

son says. "He wanted an o pen space, not a

series of little boxes with partitions. The goal

was to allow engineers ·and designers to see

and talk to each o the r easily."

Sachson's pla n meets that goal with o nly

one small impedance : a co·lumn in the cente r

o f the 42- X 42-foot room : " I coul dn ' t get rid

of that because it supports the second floo r,"

she points out.

While the testbed could easi ly have taken on

the appearance of a clinic, it is instead warmed by the use of wood. "Most NASA [the agency

funding the testbed] fac il ities use cool colors,

but l came in with the idea of wa rm colors and

wood the first day, " says Sachson. Bi rd's-eye

maple is used ~ot on ly for the "wave wall" and

soffit , bu t in a cus~om-made el liptical table sur­

rounded by Knol l- Po llock chairs . The end

result is a collaboration between science and art

that enhances the reputation of both .•

6 8 AUOIO lv' IOEO I NT ERIORS