With the 2014 Digital Signage Expo officially underway in Las Vegas, attendees are seeing the latest technology the industry is offering clients and views of new products of what’s to come by the end of the year.
With 70,000 square feet of displays, the 2014 expo is the largest in the show’s 11 year run and it’s also getting more attention from foreign markets looking to break into signage. Chris Gibbs, president and chief operating officer of Expo Nation, said there were 81 countries listed to attend DSE, of the 56 new exhibitors at the show, 44 were international and for the first time, the show had a run of programs taught in Spanish.
He said there were more attendees at the Spanish sessions than those taught in English.
The event is also getting more attention from architecture firms who are being pushed to incorporate more signage considerations into designs.
Despite the name of the show, this year’s new offerings and most buzzed about products aren’t so much signs, but app and the technology being offered to supplement signage and offer better value to users putting the technology into use.
One of these products getting a lot of buzz is the Aware-Live customer video analytics suite being offered by Lo-K Systems that monitors traffic patterns and recognition of the people who are moving through an area. It then allows signage to specifically target a person who has either engaged an ad or another form of content from a sign and keep the information following them through an area so they don’t miss any portions of the content and to keep them as up to date as possible.
Buzz is also rumbling from Peerless-AV’s new product offerings, such as a mounting panel that allows for easier installation of signage equipment and to angle them; outdoor digital way finding kiosks and the first ever fully sealed triple menu board that can withstand temperatures of up to 140 degrees and down to 40 degrees below zero. Peerless is already using the durable units with the Chicago Transit Authority.
Another product being introduced to the U.S. market by Innovative Visual Group is the Happy or Not product, which allows customers to give automatic feedback on a service or wait time as it happens. It’s already being used by airlines in Europe and the developers say it will help agencies find ways to hone their services in order to bring back customers.
The innovative ideas being put forth every year are providing new opportunities for transit agencies to expand its digital signage options and allow for easier installation due to less equipment needs. And with each new product introduced to the market it’s allowing those pursing digital signage more opportunities to make their systems as interactive as possible.
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.
