UNC’s digital signage system was outdated and difficult to use. Some tasks required up to 24 steps to complete, discouraging users from creating even the simplest messages. What’s more, the system often required USB drives to load content onto signs. The College of Business was the primary user of this legacy system since the complexity deterred other colleges from adopting digital signage. These roadblocks caused two major issues:

• Screens frequently displayed outdated information
• Students faced communication gaps while navigating campus

UNC placed a high priority on improving student communications and engagement. It also sought to strengthen connections with residents and improve their communication technology. The university needed a user-friendly digital signage solution that could easily integrate with its other systems and scale as they grew.

The Appspace Digital Signage Solution

After an extensive search for a new digital signage provider with a scalable platform, UNC chose Appspace. The platform offered UNC flexible centralized management and control of posted content. It also provided a user-friendly interface, customizable templates and integration with other systems. UNC also needed Appspace to integrate with its class scheduling software, 25Live. The Appspace team used 25Live’s Publisher feature to feed the data into Webview Cards, resulting in a near-real-time integration that showcases class schedules and event information on digital signage across the university.

“We’ve been impressed by Appspace’s user-friendly platform and excellent support. Our adoption rate among students, faculty and staff has soared. University-wide visibility has improved significantly, thanks to dynamic content displays. Overall, it has been a fantastic experience with a strong growth trajectory,” says Joshua Purdy, senior desktop engineer, University of Northern Colorado.

Success of Appspace at UNC

UNC’s team was impressed with the overall implementation and the Appspace team’s knowledge and responsiveness. A seamless 25Live integration meant up-to-date class schedules and other information are displayed throughout the campus.

Overall, the university has saved resources due to the integration with other systems and the availability of APIs for further customization.

The highly visible success of the Appspace digital signage implementation has helped UNC overcome skepticism in other departments, resulting in 72 digital signs across campus and growing. With their digital signage flawlessly displaying class schedules, campus events, athletics information, and performing arts updates across campus, UNC is now evaluating how Appspace Wayfinding can further enhance the campus experience for all.

Another version of this article originally appeared on our sister-site Commercial Integrator on February 16, 2024. It has since been updated for My TechDecisions’ audience.

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Humly Software Solutions Suite

The Humly Software Solutions suite includes four distinct workplace offerings:

1. Humly Floor Plan
2. Humly Reservations
3. Humly Visitor
4. Humly Wayfinding

Each software solution is deployable separately or in any combination throughout an office building, corporate campus, or multi-site enterprise business. All are compatible with Humly’s two hardware solutions: the Humly Booking Device, a slim, small-form-factor device with flexible mounting options and a touchscreen to reserve bookable spaces on campus; and the Humly Room Display, a tablet-sized booking solution with an interactive display for mounting outside meeting rooms.

According to Humly, the seamless interoperability of all it’s workplace solutions eliminates integration chaos and security concerns, while a flexible API ensures freedom and interoperability with a customer’s broader technology ecosystem, including third-party calendaring systems and conferencing software solutions.

Humly Visitor 

Humly Visitor is “check-in to check-out” solution that tracks the visitor’s journey for security and optimization, while reducing frustration for visitors as they navigate unfamiliar territory. Visitors can check-in, approve terms and conditions, and automatically register parking spaces, while hosts are alerted of arrivals to greet guests with friendly messages and trigger visitor badges.

Humly Floor Plan

Humly Floor Plan addresses the challenge of booking workspaces in hybrid business environments with flexible, dynamic worker schedules. The product provides a comprehensive 3D overview of meeting room, desk, and parking space availability on each floor, in each building, and in every garage. Workers can check availability for new bookings en route to the office, and remotely manage existing bookings to reduce frustration on arrival. Inside the office, Humly Floor Plan’s3D visualization tool provides a view of available (green) and unavailable (red) spaces on passive displays, and can be used to book spaces on a touchscreen kiosk when deployed in interactive mode.

Humly Wayfinding & Humly Reservations

Humly Wayfinding and Humly Reservations respectively exist to guide workers to available meeting rooms, and book meeting rooms, desks, parking spaces and more on a touchscreen.

Humly Wayfinding is ideal when deployed on larger displays and kiosks, with a detailed list of meetings, times, and destinations similar to airport arrival/departure screens that are absorbable on quick glance.

Humly Reservations provides users with an overview of their personal bookings, with the ability to make adjust schedules, add guest users, and initiate bookings directly from Microsoft Teams.

“We have gradually developed our suite of Humly Software Solutions for the workplace over the past ten years, with an emphasis on keeping our portfolio streamlined and perfecting each product over time,” says Anders Karlsson, CEO, Humly. “Our focus on developing responsive software solutions that are easy to use, visually attractive, interoperable with third-party systems, and infinitely scalable through our Humly Cloud service ensure that our customers have long-lasting, valuable and customizable solutions to book, manage and optimize office spaces of any scale over many years.”

InfoComm 2023 takes place June 14 to 16 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. Humly’s North American channel partners will join Humly representatives at their InfoComm booth to demonstrate the full range of Humly Workplace Solutions in various deployment examples.

Another version of this article originally appeared on our sister-site Commercial Integrator on June 8, 2023. It has since been updated for My TechDecisions’ audience.

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Here’s how the event at the American Dream unfolded back in July: MrBeast gathered 100 of his subscribers and handed them a briefcase filled with $10,000. All the participants had access to the entire American Dream complex. The goal was not to be found within 10 hours. If you were found by MrBeast and his team, you would have to give the $10,000 back. If you weren’t found, you got to keep it! The event ran overnight; come the next morning, 23 winners emerged! 

Then, in early September, MrBeast dropped a video of the event on YouTube. The following day was the grand opening of his first brick-and-mortar restaurant, MrBeast Burger, at American Dream. He announced that he would work the counter on that first day. When he did, about 20,000 people came to greet him. 

Where the Tech Industry Fits In 

How does this super-cool story connect to technology? and those of us who work within it? Simple! MrBeast utilized the full power of the American Dream, including its integrated technology solutions, to create this once-in-a-lifetime experience. 

During the million-dollar game of hide-and-seek, American Dream’s digital signage network, including LED displays and interactive LCD kiosks, played a central role. A countdown clock, which showed the time left in the competition, was shown on virtually all of the interior LED displays, which were manufactured by SNA Displays. What’s more, about 100 kiosks displayed MrBeast-themed maps to help contestants find their way around the three-million-square-foot mall. 

Of course, we’ve seen digital signage solutions adopted by individual retail stores, in many cases to highly successful effect. But few malls have successfully leveraged the commanding influence of digital signage across their environment. When you own the signage, you have to own the experience. This isn’t just ad space! Far more importantly, it’s technological infrastructure to draw people into the space, perhaps even for an event like the one MrBeast conceived. Digital signage and other integrated technology can give people a reason to come into the mall, rather than going the easy route of online shopping.  

Everything Has Its Challenges 

Seeing the possibilities of what can be done in the American Dream really got me thinking. What goes into adding signage to a modern shopping mall? Anne St. Mauro, vice president of project management at SNA Displays, generously shared her expertise with me. And she was the perfect person to do so, as her team and she lead the charge in pushing SNA Displays’ many successful projects across the finish line. 

According to St. Mauro, one of the biggest challenges arising when malls look to add digital signage solutions can be obtaining accurate documentation. She explains, “When a property has changed hands over its life, the ability to keep accurate documentation regarding the building’s structure and electrical systems is diminished — and sometimes non-existent.” To overcome this obstacle, St. Mauro notes, her team seeks out information from the designers of the record. “We research the building’s public records for building-code approvals and documentation,” she elaborates. “We’re also sure to conduct physical probes and testing to determine conditions and capacities.” 

Another hurdle centers on regulatory requirements. “It can be daunting and take more time than anticipated,” she acknowledges. “The process for approval differs across the country. Some municipalities and zoning boards are familiar with digital signage and others are not.” Drawing on her team’s and her substantial experience, St. Mauro remarks that some cities may require obtaining a variance to apply exterior digital signage. “Understanding the regulatory environment early and seeking the correct information from the regulators and manufacturers is key to successfully navigating the process,” she declares. 

To be clear, though, none of these hurdles should dissuade you. Every great success story involves overcoming challenges, St. Mauro and her team have found ways to prepare for both known and unknown variables. 

The Real Risk is Doing Nothing 

We’re all familiar with the steady growth of online shopping. Brick-and-mortar operations, including shopping malls, have been looking for ways to keep up and create engaging experiences. Ordinary, boring malls have to find a way to fill their environment with modern technology. Immersive experiences and digital signage solutions can help revive spaces that some see as passé. 

Exterior signage, in particular, has the potential to draw attention, St. Mauro says. “We’ve added monuments, pylons, tickers and more when it comes to an exterior signage implementation,” she describes. “We’ve also added interior signage for advertising stores, brands and events.” What’s more, she adds, wayfinding kiosks and maps factor into the mix. Nobody’s denying that digital signage solutions can be expensive in terms of making the initial investment, but the real risk lies in doing nothing. Then, malls will become — or perhaps will remain — vacant lots. 

The Opportunity is Now 

Who knows what the shopping mall will look like in 20 or 30 years. The point is that the greatest opportunity for updating and transitioning to the future is now. And implementing a digital signage network is central to that. St. Mauro cites flexibility benefits versus static signage. She explains, “As tenants enter and leave, changing the content on an LED display has little lead time compared to static signage.” Another value centers on lower costs through the lifecycle as compared to static signage. “There is an initial capital investment,” St. Mauro acknowledges, “but considering the potential for additional advertising revenue and decreased maintenance costs, [it] allows an owner to recover their investment more rapidly.” Visitor engagement and involvement are just the cherry on top. And those are exactly what modern shopping malls want and need to revive their environments. 

The modern shopping mall will increasingly find creative ways to utilize digital signage solutions. I, for one, am excited to see what the future holds. 

This article is brought to you with the support of Mount-It! PRO. 

This article originally appeared on MyTechDecisions’ sister-site CommercialIntegrator.com

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The IT Team Challenge

The community college needed a fresh way to welcome people to campus, show them what the school has to offer, and help them find their way around a complex facility with both indoor and outdoor spaces. They also wanted a solution that could keep pace with changes at the college and would immediately demonstrate to prospective students that Davidson-Davie is a modern institution that can help them prepare for the working world.

The IT team at Davidson-Davie set out to make it easier for students and visitors to navigate the campus. They needed a solution that could grow with them, adapting to needs they hadn’t yet identified. The ideal result would not only make campus more accessible, but contribute to a vibrant campus life and be easy to manage and update for years to come.

The Tech Decision

The Davison-Davie College IT team decided upon a network of interactive digital signage to refresh their growing facility. They installed 19 touchscreens in high-traffic areas spanning multiple buildings in two primary campus locations. All screens are networked and connected to a single unified back-end, the 22Miles Publisher Pro CMS. Any updates or changes can be pushed out instantly to screens in every location, keeping the interactive 3D-maps, step-by-step directions, and preferred/accessible routing constantly up to date.

“Students really like – and I think are sometimes surprised by – how easy it is to go in and pick a room through the touch interface on the map,” says Director of IT Services Donald Beck. Users can also access a faculty directory, view the college’s event schedule, or locate college services. Whatever they’re looking for, the sign furnishes detailed turn-by-turn directions, guiding them from floor-to-floor or building-to-building using a 3D map of the campus.

In a facility of this scale, however, giving people directions on the sign itself isn’t enough. People in a hurry shouldn’t be forced to memorize or write down a complex route. Instead, visitors to the Davidson-Davie campus can scan a QR code to transfer their personalized directions to their mobile device via the college’s 22Miles mobile web app. There’s nothing to download; the scan takes users to a simple URL with a web-based version of the 3D wayfinding system.

Davidson-Davie’s new digital signage network is more than a wayfinding system. It’s also a key communications channel for the college’s marketing team: “The first screen that people see has advertisements,” says Jamie Bowman, director of multimedia strategy. “Different things happening on campus, upcoming events: things that students need to know about…Then, once a student touches to interact, it switches over to the wayfinding.” Davidson-Davie’s wayfinding layout also features live social feeds, news and campus events. The system is set up to encourage engagement with campus life.

Minimal Barriers to Entry

Davidson-Davie’s unified digital signage system has led to some unexpected benefits. Once the IT team deployed the 22Miles system, they found that they could easily hand the reins over to other departments to manage their own areas of expertise.

“The interface is very easy,” says Bowman. “I’ve taught other people how to use the back-end, and really, with just five minutes of training, they’re up and going and able to input content themselves.”

Related:  22Miles, Zoom Partner to Streamline Enterprise Collaboration

“The folks that know marketing can do the marketing part,” adds Beck. “Updating the directories and things of that nature is something that [the IT team] can easily do through the web interface.”

When a system is used to meet multiple objectives – like Davidson-Davie’s – these low barriers to entry are crucial. With proper administrative controls and approval hierarchies, everyone can manage the content they know best directly in the back-end: no middleman required. When multiple stakeholders are empowered to contribute to the onscreen experience, sign content stays up-to-date and compelling.

The flexibility of their platform also gives the Davidson-Davie team ample room to expand and evolve the solution in the future. They will be able to use the same unified back-end to power room signage, space management and room booking services, digital menu boards for the Storm Cellar dining hall, a campus mobile app or even videowalls.

A Digital Signage System that Can Handle Needs Now & Into the Future

Davidson-Davie’s new digital signage system makes the growing campus more accessible and welcoming. The solution allows students to find whatever they need, whether it’s a room, a faculty member, a new passion, or a community. By combining digital signage messaging, campus information, and wayfinding on a single interactive system, the Davidson-Davies’ team have created a solution that offers value to first-time visitors and daily users alike. The touchscreen interactivity is intuitive and draws users in, while the integrated mobile web app ensures they have all the information they need on the go. The simple, unified back-end makes it easy for any team member to update and maintain the content they own. And, with a flexible CMS that can handle any visual communications application, they’re ready for the next stage of growth, whatever the future holds.

Click on “View Slideshow” for additional images of Davidson-Davie Community College’s 3D wayfinding and digital signage across its campus.

The post Davidson-Davie Community College Deploys a Unified 3D Wayfinding & Digital Signage Solution appeared first on My TechDecisions.

“For V7, we wanted to make the content creation process faster and easier, while also building out the robust control and management capabilities large-scale deployment demand. Our new AI and ‘pick-and-click’ design features make it incredibly simple to create powerful visual experiences,” says Tomer Mann, chief revenue officer for 22Miles. “Integrators and system owners can design and push dynamic, customized content out to hundreds of screens faster than ever before.”

AI-Assisted Rapid Content Development

Content Manager V7 debuts the new 22Miles Smart Template Center. Users can browse over 1,000 templates in categories including interactive experiences for digital signage, information boards and space utilization, including room booking or hot desking.

Also Read: Don’t Buy Digital Signage, Hire It

New AI features auto-populate all template previews with customers’ own logos, branding, and content, allowing them to visualize real-world use cases. As users select “favorite” templates, the Smart Template Center’s recommendation engine suggests additional options. Each favorite is automatically added to a folder for fast retrieval and use.

Enhanced Content Support

Content Manager V7 offers new rapid third-party API integration features. Users can input the URL for any API into the template design page, and the platform’s built-in AI will auto-populate the data and content retrieved from the API into the template.

Office365, Google Calendar, and PowerBi integrations are natively included, and users can add their own APIs with little or no scripting required. 22Miles offers API scripting and filtering support services if necessary.

Content Manager V7 also allows users to add dynamic, interactive features like widgets and behavioral calls to actions, such as the ability to reserve a space, check in, or cancel a reservation, with a simple “drag-and-drop” or button selection.

These one-click widget customization options include the proprietary 22Miles Carry2Mobile solution, a free upgrade available to all 22Miles customers. Carry2Mobile duplicates sign content as an HTML5 page on the viewer’s mobile device via a QR code scan. This enables the audience to take promotions, directions, event schedules and more with them after they walk away from a kiosk or sign.

Content Management and Control for Enterprise Users

Content Manager V7 also grants users complete control over their visual communications ecosystem. Users can visualize and edit content schedules in the new playlist-style graphic interface and see the current content status for any device in the new remote live viewer.

Corporate accounts can also lock features, content and zones, with hierarchical account privileges for regional and site-level control. To simplify maintenance, V7 features new integrated remote digital signage player control, allowing system owners to use their mobile phone as a touchscreen controller for any physical player.

“Over the past 18 months we’ve worked to make Content Manager V7 scalable for any project size and suitable for any device,” says Joey Zhou, founder and lead solution architect for 22Miles. “We thought about everything our customers need and what the future of the market demands: simplicity, flexibility, value and control. The result is the most powerful and intuitive visual communications content editor in the world.”

Content Manager V7 is now available for visual communications deployments of any scale, with education sector and enterprise site-level pricing options.

This article originally appeared on MyTechDecisions’ sister-site CommercialIntegrator.com. 

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After being hit with the “wow factor,” visitors encounter a 65-inch LG interactive digital signage board that provides wayfinding information. As they continue walking forward, they end up in the ground floor meeting room that features LG’s 136-inch All-In-One dvLED display.

The new Dallas office is a key location supporting AVI-SPL’s mission as “a digital enablement solutions provider that transforms how people and technology connect to elevate experiences, create new value and enable organizations to thrive and grow.”  And they recognized the importance of incorporating advanced display technologies there, according to AVI-SPL Engineering Manager Erich Schriefer.

The Show-Stopping Technology

“We contract for a good deal of high-end signage and content, and there’s no better proof of our skill and ability to think outside the box than filling our own corporate lobby with show-stopping technology,” says Schriefer. “We recognized that these spaces could be product and expertise showcases for every partner, client or guest that visits the building, and worked with a variety of our suppliers to outfit different areas with various technologies.”

The Wave Wall comprises nine 55-inch curved OLED panels (model 55EF5G) in a 3×3 configuration, with each panel mounted vertically to form a 12-foot-tall, portrait-oriented 4K display that leaves visitors in awe.

This was the first time an AVI-SPL team used LG’s curved OLED videowall technology. Because it is a custom display, the team also partnered with Draper to design a mounting solution that allows the entire wall to smoothly swivel out six feet from its resting position for maintenance and demonstration purposes.

“We were thrilled to partner with AVI-SPL and LG on this project, and our expertise in designing mounts was exactly what they needed,” says Kevin Barlow, director of business development at Draper. “It was an unusual project, requiring semi-permanent installation with the ability to move the entire display at a moment’s notice. The lightweight OLED panels allowed us to use a manual design, without motorization, which simplified the build.

The end result is the appearance of a permanently-installed curved videowall that’s easily movable.”

The process was enlightening for the AVI-SPL team. It showed that even the most experienced technology professionals can still experience moments of awe when working with a new, unique product.

Related: Real Estate Firm Modernizes its HQ with LCD Digital Displays

“It was super interesting and exciting to actually bend the OLED displays on site, under the guidance of on-site LG professionals,” Schriefer adds. “There’s a curve table that the display attaches to, then a ratchet you turn, and it bends the display to the precise curve you need. Assistance from Draper and LG was critical to the success of this part of the project.”

The 65-inch interactive display (model 65TR) demonstrates how lobbies, entranceways and other high-traffic areas can provide critical wayfinding, scheduling and building information in a responsive and attractive way that meets guests’ digital expectations. AVI-SPL is currently using Appspace for content delivery and worked with Korbyt to develop content.

A Stellar First Appearance

“AVI-SPL’s lobby has the feel of a high-end retail experience or a Silicon Valley HQ reception area, and it virtually guarantees a stellar first impression for visiting clients and partners,” says  Dan Smith, vice president of business development, LG Business Solutions USA.

As one of the first things guests see and a key location where executives gather and conduct business, the ground floor meeting room also needed to highlight how cutting-edge display technologies can enhance modern meetings with improved clarity, brightness and simplicity.

LG’s 136-inch All-in-one dvLED display is a packaged product that ships with virtually every component needed for installation and use and can be assembled in approximately an hour. This represents a considerable labor reduction compared with the amount of time required to install non-packaged products. It also greatly simplifies maintenance for integrators or on-site staff by using detachable LED modules that can be easily replaced without dismantling the display.

“These first impression areas have already created a buzz among our various visitors, and we’ve received some unexpected RFPs specifically because visitors were impressed with our facilities,” Schriefer adds. “Each product was carefully chosen for a distinct purpose, and it shows. The OLED Wave Wall is perfect for the lobby because its high-definition picture quality allows visitors to walk right up to it, while the conference room dvLED provides brightness and clarity for participants whether they are close to the display or across the room.”

The new Dallas location also features various LG 55-inch, 65-inch and 75-inch 4K LED displays throughout other areas.

A Successful Partnership

AVI-SPL, LG and Draper all agree the new office acts as an excellent demo site and that the design and installation process served as a good training exercise to build competency with new products and begin to develop best practices for optimal results.

“At LG, we have a product to fit every need, whether a project demands an all-in-one dvLED wall, outdoor dvLED, curved OLED, transparent OLED or large interactive touchscreens,” says Smith. “Our partnerships with leading manufacturers and designers like AVI-SPL continue to pay dividends and result in industry-leading projects that excite the imagination and help reinvigorate spaces with digital clarity.”

Click “View Slideshow” to see additional photos of AVI-SPL’s corporate lobby area.

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