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Be tough enough: Key considerations for public digital signage enclosures

People break things; digital signage in public transit stations has to be well-protected.

August 24, 2012 by Christopher Hall — w, t

The U.K.'s first urban cable car system, the Emirates Air Line, rolled out digital signage along with its towers and cabling, and it needed to be protected and kept in working order.

Like any digital signage in a public setting, particularly a public transit setting, the Emirates Air Line digital signage needs to be protected from the elements and the people to keep it sending out the messaging passengers need to get to their destinations.

U.K.-based outdoor digital signage specialist Armagard provided a custom video wall enclosurefor the cable car service, which connects the O2 Arena in Greenwich with the Excel Exhibition Centre at the Royal Docks on the opposite side of the River Thames in London.

Air Line operators wanted two ground wall video walls in each terminal, a larger expansive system and a smaller version. The larger screen would require a steel enclosure to protect the video wall from physical impacts and the elements at the terminals.

The Air Line deployment offers lessons for any outdoor or semi-outdoor public digital signage with regard to enclosures:

Toughen up: People are not gentle with their toys. Digital signage enclosures in public settings have to be well-nigh indestructible. That means enclosures have to be built from hardened materials, usually metal and impact resistant glass or plastic.

Don't drink the water: There is a danger of moisture penetrating the enclosure and damaging the screens, so enclosures not only need to be waterproof but also made out of a material that resists corrosion.

Keep cool and carry on: Enclosures have to be designed to make sure the screens or video walls they protect don't overheat, using some form of cooling system to transfer away the heat generated from the screens themselves and from any direct or indirect sunlight.

Looks matter: Public digital signage enclosures not only have to be tough, they need to look good. Enclosures have to be designed and fabricated to fit into their environment and be a fitting part of their environment.

Read more about digital signage hardware.

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