Harris Provides InfoCaster Platform for UK's First Urban Cable Car

Passengers using the Emirates Air Line, UK's first urban cable car in London's docklands, are being informed and entertained thanks to Harris Digital Out-Of-Home technology. Operated by Transport for London and capable of carrying over 2,000 people each hour in either direction, the cable car is fast becoming a popular feature of the city's transport infrastructure.

Working with The Pioneer Group, Harris has installed its turnkey InfoCaster DOOH software and hardware suite within a large digital signage network comprised of six video walls and 78 screens. The network broadcasts a rich blend of promotional content for passengers crossing the Thames while using this unique form of British urban transport.

Opened by Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, this £60 million visitor attraction and transport link went live in June. The large screen video-wall displays range from 46-inch configurations right up to a display that incorporates 24 individual 50-inch video screens.  Mayor Johnson stated at the opening that long after the Games have left London, the facility will continue to provide an impetus for growth and development in this part of the city.

The Emirates Air Line's content creation and distribution architecture is based on three Harris InfoCaster components: InfoCaster Creator enables content creation and scheduling, while InfoCaster Manager provides central management and monitoring of the network.  InfoCaster Player controls content play-out over the entire system architecture.

Using InfoCaster, operators can display a diversity of video content on the various large screen displays within both Emirates Air Line terminals in Greenwich and the Greenwich Arena (Excel Conference Centre). Key reasons for selecting Harris InfoCaster included high-quality output, ability to drive a video wall at its native resolution, display control features, management capabilities and reliability. InfoCaster is able to display both images and videos in the video wall's native resolution without any need to scale or use additional video processors.

"At a time when a great deal of investment is being made in London this is a really eye-catching and arresting project — the stunning moving image quality on such large screens that we are able to create using Harris InfoCaster is tremendous," said Paul Childerhouse, managing director at The Pioneer Group. "Alongside its technical capabilities, Harris' willingness to support the installation with its team of engineers to help make sure that the system is doing exactly what we want and need has helped create a fantastic end result."

Harris believes that this installation has created a new standard in transport information and entertainment systems. "Passengers are treated to 360 panoramic views of London when they use the Emirates Air Line, so it's appropriate that the stunning images start before they step aboard the cabins," said Denise MacDonell, director and general manager, Harris Digital Out-Of-Home solutions. "With this installation, Harris has cemented its reputation as a leading digital signage technology supplier to the transport and tourist industries."