Glass-Embedded Passenger Information Display Systems (PIDS)

With mass transit and transportation systems becoming more sophisticated and customized to individual use, providers are seeking creative and innovative ways to engage and inform passengers. Glass-embedded information systems are becoming an innovative and promising technology for such services.

The philosophy behind this concept is that glass is and will continue to be a major building material in public transportation. The growing demand for passenger information technologies is leading to increased demand for solutions that integrate such technologies into glass elements.

Three industry trends pave the way for glass-embedded screens and PIDS. In the past, operational efficiency was the leading factor, but today, passenger experience and design are leading the look and feel of interior design in public transportation vehicles. The third trend is universal hardware and software. Operators don’t like proprietary hardware and software that keeps them bonded to a specific provider.

Our solutions follow this path. The information displays are embedded inside the vehicle structure, windows, and partitions. This solution optimises cabin space, replacing bulky external mounting elements with slim, embedded and hidden elements. Utilizing existing glass elements such as window partitions for dual purpose as information systems they still perform as the glass elements and meet all the requirements of a window – mechanical, environmental, safety. To be used as passenger information displays, they also meet electrical, electronic, and thermal requirements.

A replacement of an integrated structural unit comes with a high cost. That’s why we designed our systems to use the same specification and mechanical integration of the original system and use generic electronic interfaces to support universal hardware platforms. This way we can lower the refurbishing cost and reduce risk. ScreeneX also offers higher reliability than traditional solutions. Yet, this is not an off the shelf product. For each project, we support the OEM teams to validate the systems, through mechanical design, integration thermal modelling etc., to verify they meet all safety and transportation standards. Eventually, the embedded display and window are used as a ‘plug-and-play’ solution that lowers life cycle costs and improves reliability – both are important factors in OEM and operators’ considerations of PIDS.

Passenger information displays are only the first step; other technologies that may be relevant to embed inside glass include sensors, cameras, and other indicators. For now, we started with passenger information with transparent and opaque screens and their combination with smart, switchable glass solutions, internal and external facing screens on windows, doors and partitions. These are the most popular applications. The feedback we receive from customers indicates that this seems to be the next natural evolution of passenger information screens.

To summarize, glass embedded display systems are already here. OSG is already doing several projects around the world, mostly in Germany, France, and the US. We see major tenders that are already specifying and looking for such solutions as an opportunity to modernize public transportation fleets and upgrade busses and rail cars with a new look by introducing passenger information fully embedded in glass.

Category: Blog

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About the author

Elad Shtief is the product manager of the ScreeneX product line at OSG since the inception of this activity in 2015. In his role, Elad is coordinating all R&D, engineering, production, marketing, and sales activities of the talented ScreeneX team. Elad is married, a father of 3 and holds an LLB in Law and an MBA from Tel Aviv University.