RICHARDSON, Texas – June 21, 2012 – AMX®, the leading provider of solutions that simplify the implementation, maintenance, and use of technology to create effective environments, revealed the Global Education Alliance's winners of the AMX Innovation Awards at UBTech 2012. The recipients and finalists of the awards, designed to recognize higher-education institutions for their use of technology in improving the campus experience, were recognized at one of higher education's most prominent technology events and will share in $300,000 of equipment from AMX.

 

The 2012 AMX Innovation Awards winners were part of a large contingent of colleges at the UBTech Conference (formerly EduComm) at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. The three top winners divvied $100,000 of equipment award honors. Wake Forest University of Winston Salem, North Carolina won the Connected Campus award and received $50,000 in equipment. Stanford University, of Stanford, California was named the Automation and Control honoree and won $25,000 in equipment. George Washington University of Washington, D.C. was selected for its Collaborative Initiatives and also received $25,000 in equipment.

 

And, to celebrate its 30th anniversary in business and the outstanding innovation of all twelve finalists AMX tripled the original $100,000 equipment award to $300,000. In addition to the grand prize award, AMX recognized all twelve finalists with a complete automated classroom from AMX including an Enova® DVX-2155HD All-In-One Presentation Switcher, Modero X® Series Touch Panel and Rapid Project Maker (RPM) software.

 

"To attract new students and keep up with competing schools, universities are adapting their facilities to current trends in the learning environment," said Jackie DeLuna, Global Education Alliance, director and AMX education marketing. "The universities recognized are answering those challenges with ground-breaking uses of technology. From connected campuses to multimedia lecture capabilities, distance learning, and environmental sustainability; these schools are models that others can implement for not only a better learning experience, but better learning overall."

 

Called for most innovative use of Automation and Control systems in a learning environment, Stanford University developed a solution that answered a need many long-standing colleges encounter. The lecture capture and distribution system in the School of Medicine was installed in the 1970s, necessitating a replacement and utilizing IP-based systems. As part of the early stages of building a new central hub, the school also faced a requirement to increase capacity and streamline efficiency.

 

Now a finished product, the main system in the Stanford University School of Medicine building houses an automated video capture system that captures 8-18 events each day ranging from 50 minutes to up to 5 hours per event. The School says centralization and control of each of these captures are essential for the program's success. The installation includes a 15" AMX Modero® touch panel to provide full control of all 124 AV routes.

 

For George Washington University, there were three main challenges to creating exceptional collaborative learning spaces. Faculty and students were moving away from traditional lecture environments and demanding spaces that provide additional interactivity and the flexibility to support mobile and digital technology devices.

 

G.W.U.'s new collaborative learning spaces met this demand with spaces that include the latest AMX equipment: MXT, TPI-Pro, and the Enova® DGX product line. These AMX products are meeting the challenges and setting the foundation for a simplified transition from analog to digital. The new environments set the bar for future collaborative learning space designs.

 

In winning the Connected Campus Award, Wake Forest University created a new, satellite location that would be both technologically and culturally connected to the main campus in Winston Salem, NC. If that challenge wasn't enough, the school needed to remain on budget -- and ensure flexibility and scalability within the space for the future.

 

Wake Forest found an answer to their challenge with the Enova DVX-3150HD from AMX. This all-in-one presentation switcher is the cornerstone of the Charlotte satellite installation. In only a 3U chassis, the DVX-3150 is a complete AV room management solution, including components like a controller, switcher and amplifier, and all pre-configured. It's not only a less costly solution than buying all the needed AV components individually for a room solution, but also frees up space for the rest of the classroom A/V infrastructure. The Enova DVX line allows CAT6 connectivity for all video distribution needs, which creates considerable savings in cabling, necessary conduit size and subcontract labor. Wake Forest calculated savings of $8,000 per classroom ($40K in total for the 5 classrooms) versus the traditional equipment they used in the past. The University also saved 9 RU of rack space by buying the all-in-one solution. Additionally the calculated figure does not take into account the savings on programming, labor, or cabling.

 

"Wake Forest University Schools of Business was very excited to receive the 2012 AMX Innovations Award for the Connected Campus," said John Owen, director of technology for Wake Forest University's Schools of Business. "The gift is very timely as most of it will be used to implement the core audio-visual foundation in several of the new classrooms in Farrell Hall. This will allow the Schools of Business faculty, staff and students the opportunity to test drive and acclimate themselves with the technologies that are planned to be utilized in Farrell Hall for a full year, while also providing valuable feedback to tweak the setup prior to the move."