From concept to curb: delivering durability & precision for bus stop digital displays
Author : Lee O’Toole | Marketing & Communications Manager | Anders Electronics
01 September 2020
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Making something look effortless often takes a lot of effort. Italian engineering company, DataINFOMOBILITY develops innovative digital signage systems for the real-time display of travel information at bus stops.
This case study was originally featured in the September 2020 issue of EPDT magazine [read the digital issue]. Sign up to receive your own copy each month.
Lee O’Toole, Marketing & Communications Manager at Anders Electronics explains how its display, embedded computing and touch control expertise helped DataINFOMOBILITY deliver digital display systems that offer easy, fast installation and are internationally recognised for being long-lasting, low-maintenance and reliable.
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Current installations can be seen in smart cities in Israel, all over New York City, and in other locations throughout Europe. You may well have seen them, but you probably didn’t take much notice because they effortlessly deliver the information you need. Let’s look at some of the challenges they overcame to become so successful…
DataINFOMOBILITY was trying to develop a real-time data visualisation passenger information system for bus stops that was readable from distance and able to endure extremes in temperature and environmental conditions, including rain, sea salt and dust. And since the displays would be on the ‘mean city streets’, being tamper-proof was a must.
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There are many challenges to creating such systems: temperature control for one; and protection from elements such as salty ocean air. In New York City, for example, temperatures can easily range from -18°C in January to 35°C in July. The product would not only have to endure long hours in extreme heat and ice, it would also have to be legible to viewers from a distance – with no blurry or foggy displays. Resolution had to be taken into consideration, as well as product configuration for robustness.
As they worked together towards a solution, all of these factors had to be taken into consideration by both DataINFOMOBILITY and Anders. Anders engineering presented various options to ensure the font was clear, crisp and easy to read. The display developed was a large form factor FSTN (Film compensated Super Twisted Nematic) transflective display, a technology combining the benefits of reflective and transmissive LCD (liquid-crystal display) capabilities, and high grade polarisers on the front and rear LCD glass, enabling it to be read in either bright sunlight or dark conditions. It also featured a backlight with very low power consumption, since DataINFOMOBILITY products are solar-powered – serving the growing market for off-grid clean energy systems for environmentally friendly, smart cities around the world.
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The end product is an information display offering exceptionally high readability in any light and weather condition, energy efficient low power consumption, easy and fast installation, and designed to ensure the best protection against vandalism and extreme temperature ranges.
The team at DataINFOMOBILITY were thrilled with the end product: “There was a lot of work involved in developing this particular display – and it wouldn’t have been possible without joint cooperation between our engineers and Anders engineers.”
With Anders as their technical engineering partner, DataINFOMOBILITY have been able to enter a new market with an innovative, durable product. The solution is incredibly visible across large cities around the world and passengers rely on the real-time information it presents. Working with Anders, the DataINFOMOBILITY team are confident placing their logo onto a robust solution for travellers worldwide to use to plan their journey ahead, putting the company on the road to becoming the smart solution for smart cities.
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