Flight information display system IS-FIDS

Modern solution for providing passengers with information on current flight schedule and procedure of pre-flight formalities in automatic mode

ScheduleArrival at a modern airport terminal involves encounter with abundance of various information and mere noise. To convey relevant pre-flight information, such as number of particular check-in counter and boarding time, to each passenger appears to be a complicated but still necessary task. Communication with passengers with the help of informative monitors is a proved method which helps passengers to proceed to their destinations quickly and in the optimal way.

Flight information display system IS-FIDS is designated for prompt notification of passengers, by means of displaying actual information of daily flight plan, about departures, arrivals, points of inspection, boarding exits, process and procedures of going through pre-flight formalities – via informative monitors and special display boards.

Advantages

Peculiarities of the system that are worthy to pay attention to:

ads_management

Special application for placing advertising videos and demonstration control

lowcost

Low operation costs and high reliability of the system

automation

High level of automation of informing passengers

face_editor

Easy-to-use interface editor of informative monitors

Efficient management of advertising space

fids_AdsIS-FIDS helps not only to improve quality of passenger service but also to increase revenues of passenger terminal by means of ads placement.

IS-FIDS is supplied with a separate advertising application for commercial department specialist with the help of which he can upload and assign advertising videos for displaying at the monitors. The advertising application includes the following functions:

  • To assign advertising videos demonstration with its own schedule
  • To see «air time» that is time free of airport information
  • To see value of «air time» that is largest possible number of passengers who are in the airport at the moment
  • To assign advertising videos with complicated schedule of playing (for example, every second Sunday of a month, every 15 minutes from 17.00 till 23.00 only in the international flights area)
  • To change playing time of advertising videos in cases of delay of flights during which it should be played
  • To prepare reports – how many times the video has been played, how many passengers potentially could have seen it

Low ownership costs and reliability

IS-FIDS system is used 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so energy consumption and reliability are crucial. In the solutions that we offer LCD screens with LED backlight are used what guarantees the lowest electric energy consumption in comparison with other technologies (30-40% decrease in consumption).

Technology kWh/inch
Plasma technology 0,160
Common LCD technology 0,139
LED technology 0,096

Apart from low energy consumption by LED-screens IS-FIDS system saves energy efficiently in general. The system permits to set periods of switching off for monitors so they cannot be used when there are no passengers in the terminal. After a new task has been received, for example, demonstration of flight information or advertising, the monitors switch on automatically.

IS-FIDS system is designed for round-the-clock work so it proves to be a tested and reliable solution. Therefore our company offers 3-year guarantee for all informative monitors. If within these 3 years of non-stop operation there will be problems with picture quality then our company will replace the informative monitor in question.

Ownership cost for IS-FIDS system is one of the lowest on the market due to high reliability of monitors and low energy consumption.

High automation level

lcd_timetable_arrivalsWith IS-FIDS system there is no need to assign a separate dispatcher to monitor and manage flight schedule of a terminal and flights’ proceeding along technological chain. IS-FIDS system receives data from several sources and establishes statuses of flights:

  • From operators of air transportation service, at their technological workplaces. For example, when it is time for passengers to start boarding aircraft, dispatcher of boarding gate confirms start of boarding or indicates exact reason for delay
  • By processing radio broadcasting messages ADS-B from aircraft
  • By processing MVT, DIV messages

Therefore dispatching control of arrivals and departures is carried out completely automatically and technological statuses of flights (landing, delay) are established in a distributed manner by personnel of air transportation service.

ADS-B-Homepage

Input of seasonal flight schedule into IS-FIDS is also performed automatically as the system is integrated with databases of flight assignments, and seasonal flight schedule is imported into database of the system automatically via Internet.

Advanced interface editor

IS-FIDS system is supplied with standard yellow-black-grey palette of interface display at monitors’ screens. The system is complemented with easy-to-use interface editor which is able to create a unique interface for each terminal.
layout_editor

Interface editor permits to easily compose each screen out of special blocks: interface of boarding gate monitor, interface of check-in monitor, interface of flight schedule monitor and others. There is no need to start layout from zero, the system offers several standard layout templates as a basis for creating new layouts.

Apart from common table with flight information there is an opportunity to add special widgets to monitors’ interface:

  • Image widget
  • Weather information widget
  • Digital or analogue clock widget
  • Widget browser to display html-page
  • Flight maps widget
  • Advertising widget
  • Flash animation widget

Unique monitor interface will help to increase recognizability of your airport and to insert developed interface harmoniously into the whole design of passenger terminal.

Technology of providing flight information to passengers

IS-FIDS system implements simple technology of providing pre-flight information to passengers:

Data input into the system

enterdataAll data on seasonal flight schedule and technology of service for each type of aircraft of every airline are fed into IS-FIDS system in advance. The system also assigns check-in counters and boarding gates.

The set of such initial data helps to efficiently compose daily flight plan and to assign tasks to monitors automatically that is – to start check-in, inspection and boarding in due time.

Displaying of flights in the schedule

tech_timetableIn due technological time the flight is shown on schedule monitors installed in the airport halls of general access where passengers can see all necessary information related to the flight: number of check-in counter, zone of pre-flight formalities and number of boarding gate.

Check-in

tech_checkinIn due technological time of check-in for the flight the workplace of check-in operator receives a prompt message about check-in start. The operator can confirm check-in start and after that this flight information will be displayed at the informative monitor above the check-in counter, or the operator can indicate the reason of delay and after that status of the flight will be changed to «delayed».

Entrance to pre-flight formalities zone

tech_securityAs a rule, the time of passengers’ access to sterile zone of passenger terminal is defined not only by technological time but by passing-through capacity of sterile area as well.

Often waiting lounges of terminal sterile area are not large enough to accommodate all passengers of departuring flights that is why entrance to pre-flight formalities zone is regulated in order to avoid passengers’ crowding in the waiting lounges.

In due time for allowing passengers’ access into pre-flight formalities zone the monitor shows the flight in the list of flights of the monitor.

Boarding

tech_gate3In due technological time of boarding the workplace of check-in operator receives a prompt message about start of boarding. The operator can confirm start of boarding and after that this flight information will be displayed at the informative monitor above the boarding gate counter, or the operator can indicate the reason of delay and after that status of the flight will be changed to «delayed».

Arriving flight displaying technology

All data on seasonal flight schedule and technology of service for each type of aircraft of every airline are fed into IS-FIDS system in advance. The system also assigns check-in counters and boarding gates.

Arriving flight displaying is performed completely automatically. Flight status is established after processing radio broadcasting ADS-B messages.

Administrator’s applicaton

admin_consoleIS-FIDS administrator’s console helps to operate main components and nodes:

  • To monitor efficiency of informative monitors
  • To control power supply of informative monitors
  • To set «sleep» mode of the monitors
  • To manage parameters of displaying information
  • To manage parameters of data import and export
  • To collect data of airlines and technologies of aircraft service

Displaying multimedia

Apart from the main function of providing flight information IS-FIDS supports demonstration of various multimedia content:

Advertising.The system supports displaying of advertising videos, flash-animation, static images, animated gif-files, text tickers.
Flight map.СThe system supports displaying of flight maps, for example, arriving flights schedule can show a map with marked landing aircraft. Coordinates of landing airplanes are displayed on the map with the help of ADS-B messages processing.
Weather.The system receives weather data for all departing flights destination cities. Monitors at check-in counters and boarding gates can show weather conditions: temperature, humidity, feeling of comfort and precipitation. It can be visualized both in the form of text or picture.
News.The system supports news selection out of Internet and displaying news at the informative monitors.
Security notifications.Providing information on baggage transportation and actions in case of emergency.

Data exchange with external systems

IS-FIDS system is integrated with external IT-systems and utility systems of any passenger terminal:

  • Data exchange with airport’s AODB in order to receive seasonal schedule and daily flight plan
  • Receiving ADS-B data via special communication antennas for automatic dispatcher control over arrivals and departures of aircraft
  • Integration with fire alarm system for the purpose of providing passengers with evacuation scheme in cases of fire alarm
  • Integration with voice messages information system for the purpose of playing voice messages about pre-flight procedures
  • Receiving data on weather conditions in destination cities for all flights for the purpose of giving passengers information on weather conditions in destination cities

Reliability of the system

london_fidsSystem of providing visual information for passengers or flight information dispay system (FIDS) bears the biggest load in any passenger terminal as it is used 24 hours a day. If it fails or displays incorrect information then passenger terminal stops functioning properly — passenger traffic flows are messed, passengers are storming information counters and total chaos is all around.

IS-FIDS system is specifically designed to avoid such development of events. These are the undertaken measures to provide flawless service of IS-FIDS system:

  • Only high-quality components are used what enables to offer 3-year guarantee service
  • Informative monitors are covered with protective shock-proof glass
  • Architecture of OPS controllers installed into informative monitors excludes possibility of exposure to malign software
  • It is enough to have passive cooling for informative monitors’ operations but nevertheless additional cooling fans for active cooling are installed. Additional cooling fans are installed into OPS-controller as well
  • The server is equipped with power backup system, extra power block, additional cooling and data recording array RAID-1