Lichtenau/Baden, Germany, 24.10.2024 - The visualization of information using large-format screens has long been standard in the private sector, while in the official and military sectors, people still often work with a blackboard, a pen and a pointer. Projects such as D-LBO in the German armed forces and various other initiatives to digitize government agencies are now intended to help bring old-fashioned structures up to the state of the art. The choice of an optical output medium – usually the screen – is of particular importance here.
roda computer GmbH, based in Lichtenau in southern Germany, can look back on decades of experience in the design and manufacture of hardened IT systems and has recently begun using this expertise to provide large-format screens and entire video walls for demanding applications. As a rule, this is not about displaying presentations in cosy offices, but about fast and precise situational awareness in military operations centers, in control rooms of critical infrastructures, at public safety authorities or in control centres of emergency services such as the police, the fire department and the German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW).
Depending on the intended use – and in order to be able to offer a convincing conceptual solution including all the necessary interfaces – a consultation with the German Military Security Accreditation Authority (DEUmilSAA) may take place after reviewing the customer's requirements and checking the technical feasibility. Thus, a coherent and future-proof security concept, which, if possible, also takes into account the subsequent integration of new hardware, can be coordinated.
Customized configurations
When using screens in sensitive areas, far more criteria must be observed, and other standards fulfilled than in a private environment. For example, large screen walls from roda feature a video wall management system that can be used to easily switch between different sources and display modes, for example to implement alarm functions. This makes it possible, for example, to automatically switch from a single-user display to the video wall in the event of a specific event.
However, various other individual configurations can also be created and customer-specific functions can be controlled using the video wall management system. One example of such a sensor-controlled, customer-specific additional function that has already been implemented in practice is a so-called blur effect, which, for example, automatically obscures the large screen wall when the room door is opened in order to make it impossible for outsiders to see potentially sensitive images.
Compliant with standards, but more than standard
Just as important as choosing the right configuration are the standards that the individual components of a modern large screen system must meet. In security-relevant environments with a military background, the Tempest zones, among others, are of great interest and require broad expertise, particularly with regard to the design of a video system. Here, roda computer is one of the few providers to operate safely in zones 1 (intermediate) and 2 (tactical). The situation is similar with the so-called “red” and “black” networks used by the German Armed Forces, which must always be implemented separately so that sensitive data cannot be mixed with open data. Here too, the specialists from Lichtenau know how to set up both network classes within the same room without compromising security.
The customer's requirements as a blueprint
For a meaningful situational picture, it is also essential to be able to exchange information between spatially separated workstations and servers and to provide individual operators with the additional information required for their specific tasks – in the most intuitive and effective way possible. To this end, roda video wall systems have freely configurable navigation that can be comprehensively adapted to the customer's requirements along the release levels, the modules used and the prioritization in practice.
It is therefore not surprising that the German armed forces are already working with video walls at the Rheinbach and Uedem sites, among others, to ensure a clear and comprehensive display of the space situation in Uedem.
“We are very pleased that we have also been able to build up a solid customer base in the relatively new business area of large-format screens and video walls and that we have been able to use synergies with the IT hardware portfolio to cover additional demands. As digitization continues to progress in the armed forces, government agencies and local authorities, we also expect excellent sales opportunities for this type of product throughout Germany and Europe in the long term,” commented Arthur Wiebe, Project Supervisor at roda computer, on the company's future direction.
