*Courtesy of the San Francisco International Airport

IMPRESSING SILICON VALLEY’S PASSENGERS

In response to user-experience demands for greater on-demand connectivity between passengers and their airlines, the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) sought digital signage solutions for 90+ terminals in 2007. It was important in their decision-making process to consider the quality of environment posed by their choice of digital signage in terms of electricity use, noise levels, heat production, and compliancy with strict cleantech standards. Additionally, the airport needed to weigh heavily in considering a digital signage solution with a proven reliability track and the ability to adapt and handle difficult, sometimes unique task loads.

AOpen’s Digital Engines, fitted with the Intel 965 chipset, were garnered by the SFO project’s system integrator in light of the unique obstacles facing them at SFO. The integrator confidently turned to AOpen knowing that a) AOpen’s highly accomplished R&D team could customize AOpen’s digital signage equipment to meet both seen and unseen challenges at SFO b) in Asia, AOpen, widely reputed for its Digital Engines’ superb durability, had already won bids for digital signage on several major public transportation systems.

DIGITAL SIGNAGE | SFO

The current success of digital signage at SFO is the outcome of two-steps-ahead thinking and eamless cooperation between Ingram Micro, M-TEK, and AOpen along with vital insights from digital signage specialists out of AOpen Labs.

Digital signage solutions are available with a great variety of formatting options. A customer may choose solo connections, one-on-one between the server and a Digital Engine, or the customer may bundle all the digital signage jobs completely within a single Digital Engine. This option is very cost-effective and a good choice for simple digital signage exhibits such as slideshows or digital menus at a restaurant. However, for more complicated digital signage exhibits (such as those at SFO) needing, for instance, multiple layouts, Flash presentations, streaming media or other, the signage solutions must be molded for more demanding usage, i.e. the addition of additional memory and/or high-end CPUs.

A network connection, linking a server or servers to a network of Digital Engines, requires two sets of software: server software and signage software. The server software must be able to conduct a variety of tasks including scheduling (rotating dynamic content throughout a day, week, month or year) and managing the interactive experiences between the signage software and a customer at a digital signage interface such as a kiosk.

AOpen field applications engineer, Bob Kuo, says, “With the wireless networking option, SFO’s servers send out a, b, g multiple channels separately carrying updated arrivals, departures, and other important data such as messages from the airlines.”

The AOpen field applications team played an instrumental part in helping to mold AOpen’s open architecture and open implementation barebone systems at SFO. The Airport required high-level digital signage solutions with network connections and platforms capable of handling intricate scheduling and signage applications. All digital signage requirements were fulfilled thanks to key contributions from digital signage specialists at each progress point during the process. For instance, server and signage software integrators offered hot-pluggable environments for smooth transitions with each other and existing software. Also, AOpen installed COM ports into the Digital Engines to act as relays for automated on/off switches (to save power) and to serve as backup connections for peripherals.

DIGITAL SIGNAGE ANTI-FREEZE

There is little doubt that travelers at SFO might become upset if the screens they were reading froze and displayed information that hadn’t been updated. To avoid such problems, AOpen installed AOpen Watchdog Timers (WDTs) into their Digital Engines for SFO. WDTs quickly restart a Digital Engine in the event the system freezes. The insight leading to the decision to install WDTs came from digital signage experts at AOpen, an indication of the importance of selecting a company that specializes in digital signage. SFO had all their bases covered with AOpen.

QUALITY OF ENVIRONMENT

Many airline travelers seeking gentle reprieves from their hectic schedules enjoy the pleasant interior environment of the San Francisco Airport. Its architecture resounds with a warm sustainability philosophy as well as highly intuitive design layouts for passengers. AOpen’s Digital Engines fit perfectly into SFO’s demand structure for quality of environment, offering such exclusive features as:

• Noiseless Operation (27db)
  
• Low Heat Production with AOpen’s Smart CPU Coolers
  
• Energy-Efficient – 90W (compared to the 400W of an average desktop)
  
• Digital Signage Anti-Freeze – AOpen’s Watchdog Timers
  
• Remote Volume and On/Off Controls

Considerations for the quality of environment may also lead to considerations for sustaining desirable business image and public relations. In fact, this “green branding” concern is often a central theme in an organization’s choice of going green with cleantech digital signage. AOpen has vigorously responded in this regard by qualifying for rigorous global environmental standards set by governments and agencies. AOpen’s Digital Engines are manufactured in accordance with ISO 19011 Certification, resulting in AOpen’s RoHS and Energy Star 4.0 ready barebone systems.