Article

Digital signage at Self Service Expo

Show emphasizes dynamic signage for the first time.

October 30, 2007 by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

KioskCom's Self Service Expo was held last week in New York City, and there was more of an emphasis on digital signage than ever before.

"This is our first foray into increasing the use of digital signage at the expo," said Lawrence Dvorchik, the show's general manager. "We decided to make that move after we surveyed attendees in Las Vegas (at the previous expo). They told us they wanted more digital signage. We had some digital signage at that show, but this is the first time we made a concerted effort to incorporate digital signage."

Of the 97 exhibitors on the show floor, more than two dozen offered digital signage products, services or support in one form or another.

"The way we did it this year seemed to work, and we've expanding the number of digital signage companies we're going to have in Vegas and New York in 2008," Dvorchik said. "We've almost doubled the number we're going to have in New York next year, and we've come close to doing the same in Vegas."

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The big buzz: interactivity

Most of the exhibitors put lie to the idea that digital signage is a one-way communication medium. A prominent focus was interactivity, from tried-and-true touchscreens to visions out of science fiction.

For the latter, crowds were persistent in gathering around the GestureTekbooth. The company, which has been gently nudging the boundaries of interface and interactivity design for almost 20 years, unveiled its new AirPoint system, which allows users to control a screen by simply waving at it — from any distance. The company also drew crowds around its Screen Xtreme, which uses a screen-mounted camera and body-tracking software to grab the images of passersby and integrate them into the content.

At the Nanonation booth: John Weinfeld, partner, WA Media Group; David Weinfeld, vice president, WA Media Group

The system is touted as a solution for retailers who want to interact with patrons after hours — through a store window, for instance — and also reduces the amount of physical wear and potential damage to the screens themselves, since the customer doesn't have to actually touch them.

While Nanonation took attendees for a virtual spin in a Mazda, Reality Interactive was busy showing off the interactive signage solution it built for BMW. The solution includes a wireless keyboard, a coffee table and some comfortable chairs, allowing showroom visitors to tweak the car of their dreams on-screen, as well as research product specs and watch full-motion video of cars in action. Currently, the system is in 280 BMW dealerships, with about 100 more due to receive it by year's end.

At the Intava booth: Christopher Pautsch, partner, Key Lime Tie; Matt Lafave, project manager, Intava Corp.

Other exhibits of note …

AGNPRO showed its "out-of-the-box digital signage" solution called oneBox, a small media player with pre-installed content management software. A companion product, the miniBox, includes an RS-232 port and built-in touchscreen functionality; that functionality was used to power an interactive movie theater application, in which two-thirds of the screen is devoted to interactive movie previews, the other third reserved for concession stand ads.

Apollo Display Technologies showed its Vitrine unit, a sleek aluminum case that houses six portrait displays, running in a loop — and all of which are updated by simply inserting a USB drive. Equally impressive was the company's transreflective displays, which "absorb" ambient and direct light — in other words, the more light shines on the display, the brighter the picture gets (this was demonstrated, on the trade show floor, by shining an industrial-strength flashlight on the screen).

Frank Mayer & Associates' booth was filled with hands-on, interactive displays and games; particularly attention-grabbing was a large-screen display for Sync, a joint venture between Microsoft and a major automobile manufacturer. Built into select new vehicles, the Sync program allows drivers to control their MP3 players and Bluetooth devices simply by speaking commands. The Frank Mayer display gave an interactive view of how different devices (smart phones, iPods, etc.) behave in different vehicles.

Neptune Digital, a new entrant to the digital signage space, showed its Linux-based played boxes and software. The company, which is almost a year old, has its official launch in January 2008; it will launch with some high-profile deployments for Danish Railways and Copenhagen's public transport system, and it has also landed the deal to place screens on buses for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Digital signage on display at the Netkey pavillion

Smart Modular Technologies debuted its XceedPC/M1 embedded PC, a fanless board designed for Windows XP, XP Embedded or Linux. The board ships with dual display support, and offers a host of expansion slots. It includes built-in 802.11a/b/g wireless and supports up to 4GB of RAM. The company also demonstrated its line of LCD touchmonitors, available in 15, 17 and 19-inch configurations.

STRATACACHEwas busy spreading the word of its ActiVia for Media software framework, which handles advanced device monitoring, content management and distribution and device control. The company was also highlighting its OmniCast 3.0, which handles file and object delivery across IP networks.

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