A new airport guidance display card is currently being piloted at Helsinki Airport

A new, personal airport guidance display card, developed by Agaidi, is currently being piloted at Helsinki Airport. The pilot is part of Helsinki Airport’s aim to make travelling smooth and convenient.

During one month, transfer passengers with a tight connecting time will be picked up and provided with the personal display card, which will guide them quickly and easily to their boarding gate.

“Helsinki Airport is the leading long-haul airport in Northern Europe and a popular transfer point for flights between Asia and Europe. This is not only because of that the fact that the shortest and most direct route between Europe and Asia goes via Helsinki, but also because the airport has long invested in creating a cosy and relaxed atmosphere for its passengers, as opposed to the crowded, busy airports”, explains Ms Heini Noronen-Juhola, Vice President of Helsinki Airport.

According to Ms Noronen-Juhola, the new electronic display card is being piloted to further develop Helsinki Airport’s hassle-free transfers. The light and thin airport display card shows personal, real-time flight information to passengers and keeps them updated about, for example, boarding times and estimated walking time to the gate. The goal of the pilot is to optimize capacity utilization by managing real-time passenger flow and to locate passengers arriving late to the departure gate. In addition, passengers will get information about services, such as cafés, restaurants and shops.

Easy-to-use devices that do not need wired charging

The airport display card is a small device that does not need wire charging and has an operation time up to three years. The single-purpose device is easy-to-use and it provides robust and reliable communication. Unlike smart phone apps, it offers equal service to all passengers regardless of personal devices that the passengers are carrying with them.

“The Agaidi platform offers a media channel that is fully owned and managed by the airport or site operator. This means they have complete control over data and media content as well. Due to the easy installation of Agaidi Access Points and battery-operated beacons that need no electrical wiring, deployment is also easy and cost-efficient” describes Dr Marko Mattila, CTO of Agaidi Oy.

End devices communicate via Agaidi Access Points using DASH7-ready wireless sensor networking technology. DASH7 offers an operational range of up to 1-2 km, with extraordinary wireless reception through stone, cement and liquids. DASH7 also works well in extremely challenging locations with metallic structures and equipment. Thanks to outstanding scalability, a single access point can support thousands of Agaidi end devices.