If you think augmented reality sounds as though it is something to be avoided, it is going to become increasingly hard to do so over the coming months and years.
Take a tour of the Ruben’s House museum in Antwerp and you can zoom into details of artworks and view X-rays of paintings on your mobile device. Visit House of Fraser’s online concept store in Aberdeen and your smartphone can access more information about the clothing and accessories displayed on the mannequins.
These, and a multitude of similar experiences, are facilitated by wireless proximity detecting technologies, such as Bluetooth low-energy (BLE) beacons or near-field communication (NFC) chips, which trigger a communication event to instigate contextual interactions.
NFC, which is rooted in radio frequency identification, was first specced out a decade or so ago. The Bluetooth standard has broadly been around even longer, although the latest version, 4.0, with low-energy technology, was adopted only four years ago. Both are now being propelled into the mainstream by their inclusion into smart mobile devices.
In a report published in April, Connectivity in Consumer, Mobile and IT Market Tracker, IHS Technology puts Bluetooth penetration at 90% of all mobile phones currently, growing to 96% by 2018. By that time, according to research from BI Intelligence, 4.5 million active beacons will be installed in the USA alone.
NFC was integrated into just 18% of the 1.5 billion mobile phones shipped worldwide in 2013, according to another IHS forecast issued in February. But IHS predicts that by 2018, shipments of NFC-enabled phones will have to reach 1.2 billion units and a penetration of 64%. Apple’s recent integration of NFC into the iPhone 6, via the Apple Pay function, will undoubtedly boost pick up of this technology.
For airports and their airline partners, these technologies offer the promise of providing passengers with smoother, more personalised journeys and creating operational efficiencies. The sector’s forward-thinkers are scoping out their first steps into this arena and the year has seen a number of projects, which give a hint of opportunities to come.
The aviation sector is proceeding with a degree of caution; aware that deployments have to be consistent across the journey and that the passenger experiences created have to be relevant. No one wants to switch off their customers by swamping them with unwanted offers.
Looking at airport chief information officers' technology investment plans for the next three years, revealed last month in the 2014 Airline Business/SITA/ACI produced Airport IT Trends Survey, 49% of airports will be pumping resources into NFC and 33% into iBeacons (Apple’s BLE system). However, the majority of these projects will be pilot programmes.
“If done well, beacons, NFC and similar technologies could be a major move to bring the magic back to air travel. And to bring more magic and entertainment to the shopping experience – at the airport or on the high street,” suggests Ursula Silling, founder and CEO of XXL Solutions.
With the current focus on establishing use cases, it is probably too early to suggest that the industry has a fully-fleshed out vision for using these technologies. But Silling has some ideas. “Beacons will transform how aviation, retailers, event organisers, transit systems, enterprises and educational institutions communicate with people indoors," she predicts.
“Ideally, if thinking this further, this could allow a better view for the customer [on] which way to choose at the airport and being pointed the way where she finds a good offer from a retailer or restaurant of her choice. To really add value to the customer it should be possible to filter the options and find and get pointed immediately to services that they are looking for, for example a porter service, restaurant, flower service or other.”
Airports are complex, multi-airline and multi-operator environments and, given that beacon technology is relatively low cost, technology company SITA is keen to avoid a “gold rush” approach to adoption by every tenant managing their own deployments. Jim Peters, chief technology officer and head of SITA Labs, points out that because beacons are radio-emitting devices, airports will need clear visibility of where and how they are being set up to avoid disruption to each other’s signals and the existing WiFi infrastructure.
SITA’s solution and vision is for a common-use approach, using shared beacons that different airlines can associate with their own apps as required. In June, SITA launched its Common-use Beacon Registry to give the industry a single point of contact for any beacons deployed at airports around the world. “The idea behind the Registry is we want someone developing an app to have confidence in the infrastructure and the ability to react with beacons no matter what airport they are in,” says Peters.
American Airlines was the first to use the Registry, launching a pilot project at its terminal at Dallas Fort Worth Airport International in June. Phil Easter, AA’s director of mobile apps and wearables, explains it did not make sense to deploy dedicated beacons, particularly as the Registry gives AA access to beacons at large airports where it does not have a presence.
Earlier this autumn, Miami International Airport became the first in the world to have complete and open deployment of beacons throughout its facilities, covering valet parking zones, entrances, check-in, gates and baggage claim. These have been made available via the Registry and director of information systems and telecommunications Maurice Jenkins is inviting airlines and other partners to “invent new ways to make the passenger experience at Miami even better. With our beacons, they can now give passengers relevant information on their phones at every point of their journey throughout our airport.”
Easter reports that some 65% of AA’s customers go straight to the gate either because they are late or they are nervous that they will not have time to wander off to find what they need. The opportunity to opt-in to a beacon way-finding service via AA’s mobile app addresses these issues.
“The main thing is we want to make sure it is an opt-in service for convenience, not a technology for tracking individuals or where they are dwelling. We are not interested in selling coupons or bigger hamburgers, we are interested in providing a better passenger experience,” says Easter.
Other beacon initiatives are also honing in on the potential to personalise experiences. San Francisco Airport launched a prototype app in July that links with 500 BLE beacons to guide visually-impaired travellers by audibly calling out points of interest, such as gates, boarding areas, restaurants and even power outlets.
“Although the initial phase is focused on visually impaired guests, this beacon-based platform could be adapted for general use and also modified to assist travellers in other languages,” says public information officer Doug Yakel. “The mobile app allows the user to customise the content they want delivered; shops, restaurants, power outlets, etc.” The app is currently being tested, with the aim of launching it to the public next summer.
In Europe, EasyJet trialled beacons at London Luton, London Gatwick and Paris Charles de Gaulle airports during the summer, with a view to rolling out the technology across Europe, if it proves popular with passengers. The beacons were strategically placed at bag-drop desks and security to notify customers about the exact documents they should have ready and allowing access to their mobile boarding passes. However, head of digital James Millett sees opportunities to tailor the information.
“In time, we could see applications including way finding in airports to help support individual airport challenges. For example, sensing that customers need to be in a different location if they are carrying skis or directing them to proceed through a particular area if they aren’t carrying hold luggage,” he says. “We’ll be guided by our customers – what they are comfortable with, what they value and ultimately if we can make it easier for them.”
The project is still in the early stages, but Millett says: “We have had a number of inquisitive questions in airports about how it works and a number of people thanking us for making it easier to access their boarding passes.”
Some airports and airlines are already considering the operational efficiencies and commercial opportunities beacons may offer. For example, AA envisages the potential to gauge whether customers will make it to the gate on time, so that team members can take appropriate action for those passengers who will be late.
Jenkins at Miami views way finding as the lowest hanging fruit to be added into an app. “If you want to look at it from a security standpoint, if there is a security issue they may want to see who is the closest individual to where there is an incident or a disruptive passenger,” he suggests. As the beacons have a temperature gauge, they offer the potential to monitor and isolate those locations in the airport consuming more energy, thereby reducing bills. “That’s the intent when we are talking about potential use cases, the temperature thing is a reality.”
Peters at SITA adds: “Beacons can also have a motion sensor so you can have them on the elevators and walkways and they can report if a thing that is supposed to be moving is not moving. They can be put down in the baggage system so they can monitor the belt and vibration of the system. You can have alerts on temperature, asset monitoring and if they are not upgraded as they should be.”
Helsinki Airport is using a combination of beacons and WiFi routers to monitor signals from smartphones, either passively or with an app-based opt-in to track passenger flows during their entire airport experience. The plan is for passengers to benefit from location-based content, such as gate changes, updated departure times or directions for those transferring to other flights. Just as importantly, the technology allows airport managers to get an almost pinpoint fix on individual mobile devices without storing the owners’ personal data.
“The airport operator can see if there are any problems in passenger flow, eg during rush hours. For example, solving unexpected queues, optimisation of signage and way finding, focusing in real time on flow guidance, optimising capacity in process bottlenecks and so on,” says Heikki Koski, vice president, passenger management, for airport operator Finavia.
To date, beacons do not appear to offer airports and their partners any major technical challenge. They demand a collaborative approach, but the feedback here is enthusiastic. “We are finding a lot of co-operation with all the stakeholders, because everyone [is] so excited about all the technology right now,” reports Peters at SITA.
So where are the challenges? Privacy is an issue in so far as implementations have to address consumer concerns (usually via customers opting into the app service) and regulatory demands. The regulatory environment can vary from country to country. Silling at XXL cites Germany in particular as having restrictions on using device owners’ data and tracking them back to make specific offers to that individual.
Processes and the underlying business strategy also require consideration. Finavia’s Koski says you have to make sure that the system covers all areas adequately, then the issue is analytics. “Building analytics for operational efficiency and [the] right digital services for customers need work,” he says. “Though they are not challenges as such. [The] business challenge is mainly getting customers to know about the services when they are available and making them so easy and appealing that customers want to use them increasingly.”
Software will also be a deciding factor according to Silling. “Data analysis and ease of diagnosis and call for action – it is not enough to just introduce the technology if organisations want to differentiate.” She adds that the introduction of technologies such as beacons and NFC will be against the backdrop of other mobile and legacy technologies, plus other projects related to customer experience, touch points and data.
Source: Airline Business
