The 2015 Digital Signage Expo has its share of new signage technology and companies making their way into the market, but a new trend has emerged in the industry to take it to the next level — engagement.
DSE 2015 is underway at the Las Vegas Convention Center, where the latest technology is being unveiled for mass deployment later this year and this year’s products focus on engaging the public, especially in the transportation sector.
Manufacturer Parabit is showing its new animated virtual kiosk for placement in train stations, airports and anywhere else wayfinding or customer communication is key. Unlike a traditional wayfinding kiosk, people approach a standup of an animated woman who can answer questions in different languages and eliminate the need for actual customer service agents.
The company recently finished a pilot program using the virtual assistant with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the public was accepting of the technology.
Other companies like Reflect are introducing wayfinding technology that allows users to find their way around by customized maps of locations. The technology means people can get around without needing the paper map of a system.
A lot of excitement at the show is with Google making its first appearance at DSE with the company pushing integration to Chrome for managing signage.
Signage technology is also improving along with the ability for customers to interact with it.
LG Electronics rolled out new signage that can withstand the elements and dust without the need for another case around it. Daniel Leunig, senior national sales manager for the company, said the signs are designed to work in areas like subway stations where brake dust can accumulate on signs, causing a deterioration of their lifecycle.
In fact, the sign is durable enough to withstand a gunshot or someone slamming it with a baseball bat.
“If you hit that with a bat, it’ll actually leave you with a ringing feeling in your hands for a couple of weeks and it still won’t break,” Leunig said.
And BenQ America Corp. introduced a new double-sided display designed to be very thin.
“If you look at it, you see it’s as wide as your thumb,” said Bob Wudeck, associate vice president of strategy and business development for BenQ.
Christie is moving itself past being just a provider of digital signage equipment into a new level of providing value to signage systems.
Denys Lavigne, senior director of experience strategy and creative services, said the company recently acquired two other companies to expand its services to build a full signage solution for clients.
“If you’re just doing signage for advertising, I don’t think it’s worth it,” he said. “There has to be real value to it.”
Joe Petrie | Associate Editor
I came to Mass Transit in 2013 after spending seven years on the daily newsbeat in southeastern Wisconsin.
Based in Milwaukee, I worked as a daily newspaper reporter with the Waukesha Freeman from 2006-2011, where I covered education, county and state government. I went on to cover courts for Patch.com, where I was the main courts reporter in the Metro Milwaukee cluster of websites.
I’ve won multiple awards during the course of my career and have covered some of the biggest political events in the past decade and have appeared on national programs.
Having covered local government and social issues, I discovered the importance of transit and the impact it can have on communities when implemented, supported and funded.
