Airport_Business_February-March_2020 - 40

TECHNOLOGY
AUTHOR Joe' Lloyd

The primary LED
display is 10 feet
tall and extends
140 feet along a
hallway framed by
large windows.
RICH TAYLOR PHOTOGRAPHY

MORE AIRPORTS EMBRACE THE POSSIBILITIES OF

Audiovisual Experiences
FOLKS KEEP flying. According to the International
Air Transport Association, passenger numbers are
expected to reach 4.72 billion in 2020, up 4 percent
from 4.54 billion in 2019, which was itself a record
year. As more people travel, airports around the world
are reinventing themselves by using audiovisual (AV)
technology as a foundational design element.
Most passengers encounter such
AV installations for just moments - as
they check in, run to catch a plane, buy
souvenirs, grab a bite, or gather their
luggage. As an example of these AV
experiences, more airports are installing
large video walls - sometimes behind
airline counters; sometimes in security
halls - to help improve the passenger
journey and communicate more
effectively. In fact, as many airports invest
millions in infrastructure, they're allotting

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JOE' LLOYD

Joé Lloyd is the Senior Director of
Communications for AVIXA™, the
Audiovisual and Integrated Experience
Association. AVIXA represents the $231
billion global commercial AV industry and
produces InfoComm trade shows around
the world. For more information, visit
avixa.org/transportationAV.

more to AV technology that makes travel
more enjoyable, markets a terminal's
vendors, engages the public, brands a city,
conveys information and more.
According to research by AVIXA, the
Audiovisual and Integrated Experience
Association, transportation hubs are
boosting their investment in AV solutions,
whether it's digital signage, video walls,
interactive displays, or directional audio.
According to AVIXA's Industry Outlook
and Trends Analysis (IOTA) report, the
transportation sector spent about $11.5
billion worldwide on AV products and
services in 2019. And investment in AV
by transportation enterprises worldwide
is expected to grow almost 8 percent a
year through 2023.
Here are some ways airports are
making their AV investments count:

AV as a Differentiator
You may have read how Charlotte

40 \ AIRPORTBUSINESS / FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

Douglas International Airport, along
with the Charlotte Arts and Science
Council, created an intricate digital art
feature for its Concourse A that fused
technology, art and design. At the 2019
AAAE Airport Innovation forum, CLT's
Business Intelligence Manager Katie
McCoy shed light on the rationale
behind the installation.
"We really wanted to focus on
passenger experience," she said. "Happier
passengers spend more money."
The main element of the CLT
project is a giant video wall by renowned
digital sculptor Refik Anadol. The team
originally considered modern projection
technology, but after realizing projectors
couldn't compete with Concourse A's
high ambient light levels, it decided on
a series of LED displays - the type you
might ordinarily see outdoors on digital
billboards or at New York's Times Square.
The primary LED display is 10 feet
tall and extends 140 feet along a hallway
framed by large windows. Passengers glide
past on a moving walkway and data from
airport systems, weather feeds and other
local sources combine to create living,
swirling, immersive digital artwork along
the length of display. The massive digital
sculpture is visible through the windows
from the curb outside, allowing road
traffic to take in the spectacle as well.
http://www.avixa.org/transportationAV
Airport_Business_February-March_2020

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