Xilica Case Study

REY JUAN CARLOS, UNIVERSITY OF MADRID

Adjustable learning spaces with a standardized AV setup - cutting through complexity at URJC, Madrid.

SOLUTION BENEFITS

• Great in-room audio across collaboration spaces with the power of HearClear AEC and Xilica noise reduction technologies.
• Easy centralized management and routing using a Dante backbone over standard Category cable.
• Simple integration with popular ceiling beamforming microphone arrays to add flexibility to teaching spaces.

University Rey Juan Carlos was established by the Spanish government in 1996 in the Community of Madrid. The university has 400 teaching spaces divided into five campuses in Madrid, Fuenlabrada, Móstoles, Aranjuez and Vicálvaro, with more than 49,000 undergraduate, master and doctoral students enrolled annually.

Although the university was born to serve the people of the Community of Madrid, nowadays is involved with all Spaniards and citizens of the European Union. King Juan Carlos University is part of the International Consortium of Universities, EULIST, with eight other European universities.

In July 2020, the university launched a four-year plan for digital transformation to adapt the teaching spaces to the requirements of the 21st-century teaching process. The university has won the prestigious @aslan Digital Transformation in Public Administrations award for this project in the “Digital Transformation in Education” category.

Challenge

The university wished to provide their classrooms with a high-quality AV solution for face-to-face, hybrid or remote classes.

For URJC, it was essential to have a high-quality audio and video system which is easy to operate for people without AV knowledge. The acoustics of each space had to be adjusted, also, to achieve the highest audio quality.

The system integrator designed a simple user interface using Extron control products that was easy to understand and use for people not familiar with the operation of AV equipment.

Solution

The system integrator, in charge of the revamping of 100 classrooms on all five campuses, chose top-tier brands to provide equipment and professional technical and after-sales support.

The digital transformation solution consisted of audio and video capture from each classroom and recording and distribution via streaming if required. The most significant challenge faced was the adaptation of the microphones because each of the spaces is different. The classrooms are all different, and they all have different layouts.

Xilica and Sennheiser equipment was at the heart of the audio solution because of their easy integration and premium sound. The TeamConnect Ceiling 2 (TCC2) ceiling microphone from Sennheiser captures a high-quality sound from anywhere in the classroom, covering the entire room surface.

At the same time, Xilica’s Solaro QR1 digital signal processors (DSP) provide clear, intelligible sound without annoying noises such as feedback, echoes, etc.

Xilica’s Solaro QR1 open-architecture processor was one of the strong points for the integrator, as it allows personalised configuration with the appropriate cards according to the needs of each installation. In addition, it is powered via PoE and integrates into a Dante audio network.

The integrator configured each DSP with Xilica’s Solaro XC-SML (two-channel analogue audio input card), Solaro XC-SLO (two-channel analogue audio output card), and Solaro XC-SUB (2×2 (send/receive) USB audio card).

As per the university requirements, each classroom also had a Sennheiser MEG14-40 B, a 40cm gooseneck microphone with one flexible section mounted in an MZS31, and an elastic, fixed-installation shock mount.

Impact

This digital transformation at King Juan Carlos University aims to provide each classroom with specific audiovisual equipment that is easy to use. In other words, any teacher or student entering the classroom to connect to the equipment or do specific actions without the intervention of technical staff.

The revamp of the university classrooms has created multifunctional teaching spaces that allow self-recording, content generation and digitalization with streaming of classes with automatic tracking of speakers; ambient microphones with speaker detection; two-way audio to enable remote attendees; digitalization of blackboards; automation of recordings; high

connectivity of external equipment; intelligent lighting; electrification of classrooms and removal of architectural barriers, among other improvements.

Products used for this solution