Background

Cities are constantly evolving thanks to technology. With digital technology revolutionising the world as we know it, new ‘Smart Cities’ are now adapting to improve the lives of residents using digital technology. One of the cities taking the lead of this is the city of Antwerp in Belgium. The Antwerp Smart Zone is an organisation that is using technology to make life pleasant and safer for the people that live there through various projects. They approached a partner of ours about one these projects about ‘Secure Crossing’ looking to acquire some Digital Signage.

The ‘Secure Crossing’ project is all about monitoring why pedestrians ignore red lights at busy intersections and getting them to change their behaviour. For the first part of this project a busy intersection in Antwerp where 5 roads meet and a tram runs through the middle was selected as the location for the study. A camera is going to be erected both sides of the road and register all the pedestrians that cross. Using their specially created software the amount of people who cross on red and green lights will be recorded. This information is to then be displayed on a Digital Signage display installed at the crossing. As well as this data they want the screen to also display quiz questions about the city to entertain those waiting at the crossing.

Challenge

Antwerp Smart Zone were looking for a Digital Signage screen that could handle all the challenges of being outside such as wet weather conditions. When technology is outside of a controlled indoor location there is a much greater need for a commercial solution. The display was to be mounted on a pole so could not be too large or heavy. They needed a screen that could operate 24/7 in all weather conditions. Being in such a public setting they needed a display that would not be damaged easily. Antwerp Smart City Zone already had their own software but needed a media player that could help run it smoothly. The cameras for the experiment are not attached physically to the Digital Signage screens but the displays need Wi-Fi to be able to receive the data.

Solutions

For this project we supplied two 22” Outdoor Advertising Displays. These are the smallest sized Outdoor Advertising Displays that we offer and can be mounted on secure poles with a custom mount. The screens are perfectly equipped to deal with the rigours of being mounted outside. With the IP65 rated enclosure offering protection from rain and dust. The screens internal temperature control system regulates the display to keep it running at the optimum temperature. Antwerp’s climate is mild all year around so did not need any modifications. The robust enclosure is vandal proof too, ensuring that all the internal components to the screen are protected. The displays’ internal media player was able to run the third party software with and has Wi-Fi to enable internet access.

Results

The project went live in March 2019 with a big publicity blitz announcing the experiment. “Currently the screens have been shut down, to compare the difference from the period when the screens were online” said Koen Kennis, Antwerp politician responsible for mobility, finance and tourism. The experiment is still ongoing so they can compare the data from before the screens were installed and to see if the Outdoor Advertising Displays really did make a difference in terms of road safety. If the trial is deemed successful than more Outdoor Advertising Screens can be rolled out across the entire city.

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