Introduction
Start with an intriguing fact, question, or statement to grab attention. Provide background information or a brief overview of the topic. Clearly articulate the purpose of the blog and what the reader will gain.
Evolution of digital era in Airports
Driven by the changing customer demands & operational processes, the aviation Industry is staring at a major digital revolution.
The pandemic has accelerated the digital travel journey of the passenger which has also given rise to newer technology demands prompting the need for mobile based and contactless solutions which can drive convenience for passengers.
Airports are therefore also looking to invest in such innovative app-based solutions which can drive convenience, enhance the passenger experience and boost their revenue & efficiencies.
Need for Wayfinding at Airports
One of the crucial aspects is way finding. Wayfinding at airports is important because it helps passengers navigate the complex and often congested spaces at airports. Moving within airports can be confusing and stressful, especially for travellers who are unfamiliar with the layout or who have limited time to catch their flights.
This is especially true these days with airports becoming larger in size. Heathrow airport for example measures 1,227 hectares with 4 terminals. The largest terminal T5, measures 353,020 square metres which is the same size as 50 football pitches.
Traditional wayfinding/navigation systems, such as signs and maps, help to orient passengers and guide them to their gates, baggage claim areas, security check areas, restrooms, and other facilities. These may not always be very easy to understand for a lay person and can lead to confusion especially when they are rushing to catch their flight.
Some airports also provide paper-based maps that are not always easily available, nor are they easy to understand. Moreover, physical signage cannot be placed at all locations and can easily be missed by travellers and sometime they may not provide navigation to the specific facility to which the passenger wants to go.
Not being able to identify or find the boarding gate or required checkpoint can add to the travel stress and also lead to chaos & congestion which further leads to delays in departures.
As per the available statistics, in 2021 around 10.5 million passengers travelled through Terminal 5 of Heathrow airport. With this big number of travellers in one terminal, wouldn’t it be nice if they had access to real-time navigation that guides them step-by-step from their current location to the exact destination of their choice.
Personalised navigation can greatly assist in reducing stress and also enable timely departures!
With advancements in geo-location technologies and emergence of mobile apps, airports can leverage Wi-Fi, beacon technologies and digital airport maps to help passengers navigate using just one click on their mobile phones.
New age technologies like Augmented Reality can enable hardware independent navigation by making spaces interactive thereby delivering a personalized and convenient way finding experience.
Besides this, wayfinding can also be an effective tool in the hands of airports to engage with their customers in a more effective manner.
Finding way to the Boarding gates
The primary goal of the passengers is to find their way to the boarding gate. Heathrow airport, for example, has 115 boarding gates across all 4 terminals and it can be a very stressful experience finding your way to the boarding gate especially when there is a huge crowd and limited time to board the flight. The passenger can use the Wayfinding system to scan his boarding pass, enable the system to uniquely identify the passenger and provide real-time directions to the boarding gate. It can also notify the passenger in case there is any change in the boarding gate.
Reclaiming baggage
The wayfinding solution can navigate the passenger to the exact carousel where his baggage is expected and also notify the wait time. This can particularly take away the anxiety of the passengers who are waiting for a long time and still do not see their baggage arrive.
Airport facilities/Shopping/Nearest Lounge
Some people are not able to locate the restrooms or feeding rooms or the shops that they are looking for. This makes the whole experience stressful. Wayfinding solutions help people find the required destination with the help of arrows, directions or cues.
Passenger flow management at airport
When the passengers are not aware of their route, it may lead to big crowds. Accidents may happen and exit during emergencies can be difficult in these scenarios. Showing direction or maps on digital kiosks or smart devices can save time and increase the overall efficiency of the airport.
When the passengers are not aware of their route, it may lead to big crowds. Accidents may happen and exit during emergencies can be difficult in these scenarios. Showing direction or maps on digital kiosks or smart devices can save time and increase the overall efficiency of the airport.
Airports face this challenge of making announcements and putting signboards in multiple languages. They have to be sensitive to the languages and cultures of various nationalities. Wayfinding solutions can be integrated with multilingual support. Passengers can get the required information in the language of their choice.
Advertising and Promotions
Wayfinding solutions can be used to promote products, services, or events to people as they move through the environment. For example, airports can use wayfinding signs to direct people to a new store or special sale, or an airport might use wayfinding displays to advertise a new destination or travel deal. Advertisements can be a great source of revenue for airports.
Feedback
As the number of passengers is increasing and airports are expanding day by day, personalized wayfinding has become essential. Direct feedback can help airport management tailor a more comfortable passenger experience.
Internal communication and Improved security
Airport staff can use the solution as a convenient tool for internal communication. Supervisors can track the staff movement. Any threat or alert can be shared using this solution and exit directions can be given in case of emergency.
Behavioural Insights
Wayfinding solutions provide a wide range of insights and analytics that can be used to improve airport operations in many ways. It allows airports to gather information about where passengers are going, which routes they take when moving from place to place in the airport, how long it takes them to get through a certain area or terminal, etc. The recorded data can become good reference point for retailers and food joints and other operational aspects.
The adoption of wayfinding systems can be a huge boost for airports. A properly implemented Wayfinding solution will allow airports to become more efficient and passenger centric.
Preventive Maintenance
Indoor navigation can also be an effective way to enable preventive maintenance at airports where assets are located at huge distances and real time exact status of asset’s maintenance state is missing across terminals. Most airports still use manual processes for noting the issues at site and sharing reports etc. This consumes time. Not ensuring proper timely maintenance can end up in more costly repairs
Airports can leverage these indoor navigation technologies enabled on a mobile app to convert these maintenance procedures into guided inspection routines. This can enable a real time view and monitoring for all the assets and their performances across landside and airside. It can highlight the areas where recurring issues are there and further enable them to digitize their day-to-day maintenance, and process checks, leading to reduced human errors, improved health and safety, and improved equipment performance.
The adoption of way finding systems can be a huge boost for airports and can further enable timely departures. A properly implemented way finding solution can also enable airports to become more efficient and passenger centric.
Coforge Xtreme Navigator
Coforge Xtreme Navigator, an intelligent Wayfinding solution serves various purposes across the large airports. It can also provide Augmented Reality capability to help people navigate through large physical spaces in real time with step- by- step guidance.
The solution uses a combination of different indoor positioning technologies like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Infra-red and others to determine the exact device location. This approach provides more accurate and robust location information which is agnostic of specific device platform and enables a deployment which does not require installation of any special hardware for the airport.
The solution uses a combination of different indoor positioning technologies like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Infra-red and others to determine the exact device location. This approach provides more accurate and robust location information which is agnostic of specific device platform and enables a deployment which does not require installation of any special hardware for the airport.
Conclusion
Coforge has the expertise in various technologies such as Computer Vision, Natural Language Processing, and 3D modeling that are required for creating digital humans in the metaverse. Coforge provides services such as creating realistic 3D models of humans, animating the models, and integrating them into virtual environments. Additionally, Coforge helps clients with integrating these digital humans with other technologies such as AI and chatbots to create more interactive and lifelike experiences in the metaverse.
