‘Megatron’ Improves Lab Customer Experience and Collaboration
A large monitor has been installed in the ACEP . The affectionately named “Megatron� will allow PSI and Energy Technology Facility staff to virtually interact with clients and colleagues around the world directly from the lab and provide real-time visual system monitoring during tests.
“Visitors to the lab will have a much more visual experience of the lab's microgrid capabilities with large icon displays of what each piece of equipment is simulating,� says ACEP senior research engineer, Rob Bensin.
The new monitor is connected to both the lab’s Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system and an independent computer. “It gives us a highly visible platform to convey custom information to diverse audiences in the lab,� says ACEP power systems integration programmer, Tawna Morgan.
Morgan adds “For education purposes, we can display processes running in the lab in a simplified manner to highlight microgrid concepts.� And, during testing the team can display more complex information, such as analysis algorithms applied to results in real-time, permitting greater insight during the testing process.
ACEP's Arsh Chauhan uses the Megatron in the PSI lab. Photo by Gwen Holdmann.
A large monitor has been installed in the ACEP . The affectionately named “Megatron� will allow PSI and Energy Technology Facility staff to virtually interact with clients and colleagues around the world directly from the lab and provide real-time visual system monitoring during tests.
“Visitors to the lab will have a much more visual experience of the lab's microgrid capabilities with large icon displays of what each piece of equipment is simulating,� says ACEP senior research engineer, Rob Bensin.
The new monitor is connected to both the lab’s Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system and an independent computer. “It gives us a highly visible platform to convey custom information to diverse audiences in the lab,� says ACEP power systems integration programmer, Tawna Morgan.
Morgan adds “For education purposes, we can display processes running in the lab in a simplified manner to highlight microgrid concepts.� And, during testing the team can display more complex information, such as analysis algorithms applied to results in real-time, permitting greater insight during the testing process.

