Hospitality, retailing and healthcare are some of the major sectors increasingly taking advantage of the display technology now becoming known as wireless ePaper. There are multiple applications, from shelf edge product and price displays to exhibition information displays or conference room signage. The sheer versatility and easy central control of wireless ePaper display are driving its adoption, as well as significant cost-saving benefits over the alternatives for many organisations.
The displays are daylight-readable and flicker-free, like Kindle and other ePaper screens. They are elegant in design and come in three standard sizes, the smallest being suitable for shelf-edge product pricing and similar labelling applications. Since they are wireless-controlled and ultra-low power battery powered, ePaper displays can be mounted almost anywhere, temporarily or permanently. The larger sizes are particularly versatile since a great deal of information can be displayed on a screen the size of a small tablet or large smart phone.
Perhaps the real power of ePaper displays comes from the fact that they are wireless controlled, so hundreds of screens — including individual content on each — can be managed from a single PC or other device. An entire signage network can be controlled using the LANCOM Wireless ePaper Server software. This in turn can be linked to calendar and scheduling software (Exchange, Domino, Google Calendar, iCalendar, etc.) and to, for example, ERP and point-of-sale pricing. That can provide for active signage with automated updating of content where appropriate.
The sheer versatility and easy central control of wireless ePaper display are driving its adoption, as well as significant cost-saving benefits over the alternatives for many organisations
The wireless element is the other major strength of an ePaper system. At the display end, the innovative radio technology means ultra-low power consumption. Energy is only required when the display is changed, so a battery will last five to seven years even with an average of four content changes per day.
The ePaper signage is easy to incorporate in an existing LANCOM wireless LAN. It operates at 2.4GHz and communicates reliably with the intelligent LANCOM access points and is not subject to interference in any significant degree from other wireless traffic. The radio communications technology enables automatic quality control in the access points and WLAN controller for all Wi-Fi applications on the network, including ePaper. The minimising of interference has a useful side benefit in extending battery life because the displays need very little refreshing.
The ePaper displays come from LANCOM’s partner company Imagotag, which is a market leading provider of shelf edge displays in the retail sector. Currently black and white only, a red colour option will be introduced early next year. A further black/white/yellow option is expected later while four-colour displays are on the road map for 2016.
There are many new applications of wireless ePaper being tried out successfully across many sectors and in large organisations. We use the small displays as smart visitor badges in LANCOM offices, for example, which also offers a security benefit because they can be automatically wiped after a certain time interval or on return to reception.
Jan Buis is business development director of LANCOM, whose products are distributed in Ireland by Ethos Technology
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