Edinburgh Airports Limited (EAL), based in Scotland’s capital city, has recently undergone the first stages of a long-term modernisation plan of Edinburgh Airport, beginning with the development of the check-in facility to enable self-check ins. The traditional check in desks have been replaced with an 85m LED wall, designed to ensure wayfinding, flight information and marketing visuals for all travellers, especially those using the new self-service check in systems. The wall runs the full length of the new baggage carousel, which stretches the full length of the hall.
The teams behind the project wanted to create a flexible display solution to fulfil the needs of the travellers throughout the airport, whether that be for wayfinding or flight information. Integrator nuVIDEO worked extensively with distributor Midwich and PSCo to find a solution that could fulfil the requirements for millions of travellers.
“One of the critical considerations in the design of the new check-in facility was to ensure that flight information, wayfinding and emergency information systems would enable passengers to quickly and safely navigate their route through the check-in hall. This was particularly important given the introduction of multiple new self-service check in systems,” said Michael Macneil, Sales Manager nuVIDEO.
EAL’s initial brief, created with a CGI visualisation, outlined the concept of 59 x 65 inch landscape displays, fitted to the full length of the baggage carousel and positioned so they are visible to all passengers in the hall.
“The initial brief was centred around LCD technology and direct PC input to each monitor. This would have been functional, but it was clear LED would be a more suitable platform,” said Graham Pow, head of sales, PSCo.
“It was all about identifying the right technical tool and vendor technology for the project and using the in-house technical expertise at Innovation House to produce a digital signage and image processing solution to sit behind the LED wall,” said Manesh Mistry, high-end display and videowall processing sales specialist, Midwich.
“We then demonstrated the potential return on investment leveraging the flexibility of LED could achieve, using the space not only for way finding and flight information, but also for marketing – an avenue they had not considered,” Macneil added.
Integrator nuVIDEO worked closely with the airport’s commercial team to examine how the LED asset could be used as both an information focussed and promotional display while still offering longevity and low maintenance.
When it came to choosing which LED solution could fulfil all of these requirements, as well as occupy the space above the baggage carousel with the limited ceiling height, the team chose Absen. The A27 2.5mm LED panels from Absen’s Acclaim series suited the job perfectly.
A total of 140 prefabricated frames, provided by PSCo, were mounted on to the surface of the wall and aligned end to end, with each vertical frame consisting of four Absen cabinets, slotted into the frames and interconnected. The canvas comprised 560 Absen A2725 Plus cabinets, amounting to 2,240 LED panels.
“Edinburgh Airport is a standout project that clearly demonstrates the benefits of LED. With 118 sqm of digital real estate, the Absen LED wall delivers a flexible and highly impactful visual solution in an environment that sees consistently high footfall with extended dwell times. The A27 panels from Absen’s Acclaim series is our flagship LED solution for fixed installations offering outstanding image quality and a seamless display with front install and service,” said Alex Couzins, head of brand and marketing, Absen Europe.
