Digital signage for airports & train stations.

Display travel info when (and where) it’s needed with XOGO.

In the United States alone, approximately 2.9 million people travel by air each day. Another 87,000 trail by rail. And it can be stressful - with tight connections, long security lines, frequently-changing gates and that screaming child in seat 43B. In order to keep people, luggage and freight moving on time, it's essential for airports and train stations (also seaports and bus stations!) to have up-to-date communications.

Why Digital Signage?

Printed signage can't be swapped out every time that there's a gate change or flight delay. People frequently don't hear important voice announcements in a noisy environment. Any they don't always receive text messages on time. Digital signs are therefore the perfect way to efficiently communicate travel information to the public, and ensure that it's always up to date.

Screen Placement

It sounds obvious but in order to be effective, a digital signage network must have an ample number of screens and place them where passengers need them the most. Of course one should place screens at check-in areas and departure gates, but also consider placing screens in food courts, long passageways and in waiting lounges, so passengers remain updated as they move around the facility. No one wants to miss a flight because he spent too long waiting in line at Starbucks.

Integrations

A key feature of digital signage systems is their ability to integrate with other systems. Most modern ticketing systems, particularly for air travel and train networks, have an existing (often quite complicated) database system that’s used to monitor ticketing, gate assignments, delays, etc. Digital signage systems can surface selected fields from such a database and display them in a user-friendly manner on digital screens. Whenever a change is made to (for instance) a flight number, destination, estimated departure time, or departure gate in the database, that information is instantly updated on your network of digital screens as well, so all passengers are constantly in the know.

No Down-Time

Many travel hubs (especially airports) are open 24/7. They slow down during off-peak hours but may still have flights arriving in the middle of the night. This means that the digital signage network needs to be robust and continue functioning with little to no down-time. A cloud-based signage system like XOGO relies on the secure Microsoft Azure cloud, with its incredible 99.99% uptime. In human terms this means the system has only a few minutes of downtime per year. We also recommend selecting quality commercial-grade screen hardware that's designed to run full-time without overheating. This hardware is available from familiar brands including LG, NEC and Samsung. In many cases XOGO can be installed directly on these high-quality displays, which makes the screens more tamper-proof and eliminates one more possible point of failure.

Additional Advantages

In addition to strictly displaying travel data, digital screen networks can be leveraged to display infotainment content or even advertisements for local businesses. Infotainment feeds like news, weather and sports have been proven to lower people's perceived wait times and can be a nice distraction from the stress of travel. Displaying advertisements allows the owner of the digital signage network to create a revenue stream, to offset the initial price of the screens, software and setup.

Summary

Digital signage is a necessity in today's fast-paced travel world. It's affordable enough to be placed all throughout busy airports and train stations, it integrates with existing systems, and can also be leveraged for infotainment or even to display the occasional advertisement. XOGO is an ideal partner for this type of deployment, due to our low cost and the wide range of devices and operating systems that we support. Contact us below and we'll be happy to discuss your project.

Take-Aways

• Digital signage is the most effective communication medium for travel hubs like airports, train stations and bus stations

• Place screens liberally for best results - not only in gate areas but also in food courts, lounges and baggage claims

• Integrations are available to ensure that when information changes in one system, it’s instantly reflected on signage screens

• XOGO is an excellent choice for travel hubs due to our low cost, developer APIs and the fact that we on any device with a screen