Photos courtesy iGotcha Media
By Greg Adelstein and Stephanie Henry King
One way to witness the digital signage of tomorrow is to visit the trade shows of today. In February, for example, the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) show in Amsterdam, Netherlands, attracted more than 65,600 attendees from all over the world to browse large, sold-out exhibition halls. Catering to both business-to-business (B2B) and business-
to-consumer (B2C) markets, the event featured not only digital signage technologies, but also unified communications (UC), audio and residential ‘smart building’ systems, with more than 1,100 exhibitors representing a wide range of small, midsized and large companies.
All of the major digital signage hardware manufacturers were at ISE, showcasing new screens. Perhaps the biggest attractions on the floor were ultra-thin, double-sided, curved organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays producing ultra-high-definition (UHD) ‘4K’ images in remarkably vivid colours. At one booth, three of these screens were combined to create a massive S-shaped video wall, where attendees lined up to take photos. There were also in-window touch screens and transparent OLED displays.
One growing trend was the integration of central processing units (CPUs) in screens. This eliminates the need for external digital signage media players and reduces the total cost of ownership (TCO) for network operators.
Augmented reality (AR) was also showcased dynamically, with attendees’ images captured by camera and converted into ninjas, samurais, sailors and other characters for display on a large screen above them. The playful approach was a strong way to capture the attention of passersby.
Based on the breadth of manufacturers exhibiting at ISE, one could take away the impression that Korean companies are leading in the production of liquid crystal displays (LCDs), while Chinese businesses are dominating the light-emitting diode (LED) segment of the market.
Software also had a strong presence at the event. At one booth, for instance, a barista served coffee via touch screen to demonstrate the capabilities of enterprise systems.
Indeed, while ISE is not strictly a digital signage show, it showcased many facets of the industry, including kiosks, touch-screen overlays, content development, wayfinding, video conferencing and beacon technologies.
Augmented reality (AR) was showcased at ISE by capturing images and turning them into colourful characters on a screen.
Pointing the way forward
The following month, the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC) hosted DX3, billed as Canada’s largest conference and trade show dedicated to digital marketing, advertising and retail. With 124 booths, the comparatively small show was a much more intimate event than ISE—and only a few of the exhibitors were digital signage companies.
Nevertheless, DX3 also pointed the way forward for digital signage technology. A video wall configured for credit union association Desjardins Group reacted to passersby to help catch their gaze. MasterCard sponsored an interactive ‘retail collective lab’ zone demonstrating innovative opportunities for digital technologies in bricks-and-mortar stores. SoftBank demonstrated a 1-m (42-in.) tall customer service robot, Pepper, that was programmed to understand and react to human emotions, responded to attendees’ questions and shared information on a 254-mm (10-in.) chest-mounted tablet screen. There was also a booth that, like the aforementioned example at ISE, invited customers to place their coffee orders via touch screen.
And despite its small size, DX3 attracted a lot of attendee traffic, which fuelled many gaze-tracking, mobile-to-screen and audience measurement technology demonstrations. One camera that gathered information about passersby calculated their attention time and guessed their gender and age. (Many visitors were flattered when the application rounded their age down.)
