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Customer application 5 August 2021

Precise Control for Building Technology

The Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart uses futuristic architecture with multimedia and lighting technology to showcase 135 years of automotive and corporate history. The automation needed to be updated and modernized about ten years after the museum opened. The contract was awarded to SYS.TEC, a system integrator for building automation, and a system partner of B-CON and WAGO. The project began in 2017 and was successfully completed in 2020.

Directly in front of the factory gates in the Untertürkheim district of Stuttgart, automotive history comes to life: On 16,500 m² of exhibition space, the museum building, which opened in 2006, houses 160 automobiles and more than 1,500 exhibits. These are elaborately presented in rotating exhibitions and special shows – a challenge for the lighting and media control system. In order to modernize and update the aging LON® lighting control system, SYS.TEC developed a custom solution based on the B-CON building management software in connection with our WAGO I/O System.

Implementing Lighting Scenarios in the Museum with WAGO:

  • The lighting and media control in the museum uses the WAGO I/O System.

  • Precise, decentralized control of individual lighting and media elements

  • Storage of different (presentation) scenarios in the WAGO control system

Custom Automation for a Unique Building

“With its numerous exhibitions and special shows, the Mercedes-Benz Museum requires specially tailored solutions that go far beyond the standard,” explains Alexander Großmann, one of the two managing directors of SYS.TEC and head of the project. To complete reprogram the lighting and media control system, SYS.TEC developed B-CON, a decentralized control unit.

The Mercedes-Benz Museum is known for the exceptional way it presents its exhibits. The rotating exhibitions involve elaborate staging with individual lighting and media control.

Lighting Technology: Individual Control for Complex Scenarios

Scenario management, including visualization, was a core goal and technical challenge for the team. It allows optimal illumination and staging for all the exhibits – even with a decentralized approach, and even during ongoing presentations and events. Using Windows tablets, the elements of the lighting and presentation technology are controlled on site via the decentralized control unit and stored as a scenario in the WAGO controller. In this way, the presentation organizers can control all of the 12,400 lights separately, as well as the screens, projectors, media players etc., as needed and integrate them into presentation scenarios.

Special exhibits, such as this Mercedes-Simplex 40 HP, deserve exceptional staging. With the WAGO controller, all the lighting and presentation elements can be controlled separately and stored in individual scenarios.

Challenges around the Clock

The coordination and execution of this large-scale project at the same time as ongoing museum operations required a high level of reliability and organizational skills from everyone involved. For example, one organizational challenge consisted in replacing and installing all the controls, interfaces and control cabinets without the museum visitors noticing anything. “One day a week the museum is closed, which helped. Otherwise, we worked in the background – and even at night if necessary,” explains Alexander Großmann.

Today, museum visitors can marvel at the Silver Arrows positioned as if on a racetrack. Should the stage ever need to be reconfigured, the technology is ready: Thanks to the versatility of the WAGO I/O System, the setup allows flexible technical modification at any time.