Greetings from the Digital Signage Expo

3M Rep shows rear projected kiosk
Originally uploaded by mauser_fan

Well I've spent the past two days exploring the Digital Signage Expo in Las Vegas. I was there initially for a meeting of the advisory board of the Digital Signage Association of which I sit on the board. The Expo was a very large show this year. It was double the size of past expos, as the digital signage industry grows by leaps and bounds.
There were many cool digital signage apps, but also many that could be considered kiosks in my mind. The photo here shows 3M's Vikuiti rear projection kiosk/signage application. A projector displays content onto a glass surface that has a special 3M coating. The image is projected through that material for viewing on the other side, and only on the surface of the coating, not the rest of the glass. The photo here also shows that a touchable menu can interact and change the content of the video being projected. Very cool retail application, and it could be used in many other solutions too. http://www.3mdigitalsignage.com/dse/ .

Other fun items seen at the show include the LongPen remote book signing tool that is being used by Borders Books. Created by author Margaret Atwood, the video conferencing solution is combined with a remote controlled pen, allowing an author in a remote location to talk to the consumer and sign a book for them! Very impressive and fun. Think of the saved travel time and expense for the authors. They could do multiple book signings each week and never leave their office. http://www.longpen.com/



All in all, the show was a big success. Our company, Electronic Art was in attendance and was there to cement some relationships with Cisco systems who has a robust digital signage network system, of which Electronic Art will become a VAR and content management / provider partner. Also, we evaluated using NetKey as a digital signage management tool as well as Kiosk OS system.

I'm still in Vegas at the moment, working at Starbucks before flying home tomorrow, so I'll try to post more entries from this show in the next week. So many to talk about!

Did you attend the show? If so, comment below on your favorite booths and products.