This was Day 2 with Siemens USA! We visited some of New York City’s major attractions to understand how Siemens actually helped build our beautiful city! So, tag along with me to explore what happened during the “Siemens NYC’s Hidden Technology – A Behind the Scenes Tour”!
As you’ve probably noticed, after reading our Day 1 experience with Siemens, that I had a fantastic time at the “Siemens NYC’s Hidden Technology – A Behind the Scenes Tour”!
I always say that I’m not only extremely curious to learn historical facts about NYC, but I think it’s extremely amusing to understand how this amazing city operates and functions.
Siemens’ technology is literally scattered throughout the city of New York in places and world-famous landmark: from the Statue of Liberty, the subway system, the Amtrak and the beautiful World Trade Center Memorial Fountains, to the retractable ceilings at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the impeccable acoustics of Carnegie Hall and even, hidden within the top breweries in Brooklyn. The purpose? To make your NYC days eternally memorable and seamless experiences.
That said, let me start telling you about our Day 2 at Siemens “New York City’s Hidden Technology – A Behind the Scenes Tour”. If you thought that yesterday was cool, take a look below at where we went this time!
After a very early breakfast, starting at 7am at a hotel in FiDi, where me met the entire group, we hopped on the bus and headed to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, better known as the home of the US Open Tennis Championships that is actually happening now!
9am – USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center
I’m a huge tennis fan and even played when I was younger for a couple of years.
If you follow tennis, you’ve probably seen how many matches have been cancelled or delayed during the years, due to bad weather, right? Such a bummer!
Not only is this a hassle if you’re there watching and enjoying the match, but specially for the athletes that end up cooling down and getting distracted, to then have to go back to court.
The Arthur Ashe Stadium is the largest tennis stadium in the world, with retractable ceilings that have ended the bad weather problems.
Siemens worked with Morgan Automation Systems, part of the Morgan Engineering family of companies, a world leader in automation of extreme large mechanization projects, to make this project become a breathtaking reality!
I listed some of the most curious facts that you should know about it, and that I thought were particularly interesting:
- This ceiling is the largest structure in the world, over a tennis court, installed just earlier this year
- The retractable ceilings are controlled and powered by Siemens
- Each half of the roof weighs around 1 million pounds
- The roof has 250ft long, each one being 125ft
- It moves at approximately 25ft / minute. It opens within approximately 6 minutes 10 seconds and closes in approximately 5 minutes, 35 seconds. Why does it close faster? Well, when a storm suddenly pops in, they have to be quick to preserve a dry court, so the game continues.
- Everything happens through the push of 1 single touchscreen button
- It has the power to resist winds that reach 125mi/h
- There is a team that is exclusively monitoring and controlling the air temperature and moisture
- They have to be careful for not 1 single drop to fall on court
- The Stadium is regulated to have the same temperature as the outside weather, so every player is performing under the same conditions
- The stadium is used only 3 weeks during the entire year, with 4 yearly maintenances
Now, understand the Siemens cutting-edge automation technologies onsite:
- The ceiling is powered and controlled by Siemens’ Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs)
- The S120 Safety System is totally integrated
- Easy to use with access comfort panels
- These industrial equipment and systems can be seen not only in factories, but also throughout the entertainment world like: Cirque du Soleil stages, rides at Walt Disney World parks, shows in Las Vegas, the Orlando Eye 400-foot observation ferris wheel, and even Broadway shows.
12pm – Other Half Brewery
It’s amazing how Siemens is literally spread throughout New York! What do I mean? Well, we had lunch and a great beer tasting experience at a brewery in Brooklyn called Other Half.
The place is amazing and the aroma of their beer is all over as soon as you walk in! They incentivize people to do the tour and learn about the entire brewing process.
In the case of breweries, Siemens’ technology is seen through different components that are inside other equipment. Their tech ranges from increasing efficiency in the overall process, to controlled bottling process and modeling & managing the complete workflow.
They have a few other breweries in Brooklyn using their systems, as well as most of the Coronas you’ll drink in the US! Cool right?
3pm – LO3 Energy
It’s literally hard to point out the highlight of these 2 amazing days, but I can say that LO3 was certainly a different experience.
What is LO3 Energy? Well, they’re a pioneering blockchain startup that is changing the way we think about our electricity and how it works. Plus, we are seeing more and more, the importance of having our own data protected and encrypted. With their program, by creating and applying a token, it creates a business model that gives value to data. So, you can buy a key to unlock and also secure your data while directly managing the purchase of power.
In addition, it’s also great to see that the big shark companies like Google and Facebook are also now going 100% renewable, with wind and solar tiles.
People are literally starting to care about energy!
Where does Siemens come in? LO3 Energy is working with Siemens Digital Grid and Siemens’ startup financier next47, on the Brooklyn Microgrid project.
“In an energy market that is becoming increasingly distributed – whether based on wind, sun, water or biomass – intelligent grids are becoming increasingly important. Siemens microgrid technology is helping communities pioneer the movement toward a self-sufficient energy future.” (Siemens)
But wait! What is a microgrid? The correct, definition is: “a small network of electricity users with a local source of supply that is usually attached to a centralized national grid but is able to function independently.”
The purpose of a grid is to balance electricity: not too much, not too little.
The idea is for a community to be able to produce, consume and purchase power from within their own community. And, the cool thing is that people will be able to consume from a distributed energy supply system that draws on renewable-generated sources for a more resilient, customer-driven economy.
Being able to choose where to buy your energy from and be sustainable is now a reality!
You can also read more about LO3 Energy.
And, this wraps up these 2 amazing and truly surprising days of the Behind the Scenes Tour NYC where we explored New York through different lens.
It was extremely interesting to see and understand a bit of how the engine works behind the scenes to make our New York City function so properly and seamlessly, giving us locals – and also visitors – a priceless, memorable experience!
I can’t wait to see more about how Siemens technology is impacting our lives, without us even knowing!
Thank you Siemens, once again, for this breathtaking experience with endless interesting information!
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Photo Credits: ©Behind the Scenes NYC
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*Last Update on March/2020.*
Fê is our Founder & CEO! She’s Brazilian (Yup! Not a New Yorker!), but her indescribable passion and curiosity for NY makes her a New Yorker by heart. Fê worked in companies like Kimberly Clark, Quintessentially, Vogue Brazil and Iguatemi Group, and after 12 years of working for these fantastic companies, she decided to go solo and move to NYC!
She lives in Brooklyn since April of ’15 and has been tirelessly working on BTSNYC, working with huge companies on corporate projects, practicing her Arhatic Yoga meditations, finding time for gym and friends! Phiuf!
