Auracast at Frankfurt Airport has been a major project that took just over a year to reach the point where the public could be informed that it has been installed.
The launch, held on Wednesday, January 28, marked the first such installation worldwide. It brought together the project’s partners, including Fraport, which operates the airport; Sittig Technology; GN Hearing; Samsung; and Google.
It is now open for public evaluation until the end of March, and is simple. Passengers flying out of Gates 16 and 17 can open their Auracast Assistant and choose whichever gate they are flying out of and listen.
The initial announcements were broadcast in a range of languages and were a variation of this message:
“Auracast takes off at Frankfurt Airport. This is the world’s first airport announcement stream delivered via Bluetooth Auracast, bringing barrier-free, modern communication directly to passengers’ personal devices.”
This was followed by:
“This is a world-first manual gate announcement, broadcast in parallel. We are Auracast – a small announcement, but an important step towards better inclusion. Thank you.”
Johannes Sittig, the CEO US of Sittig Technologies, was delighted with the successful event, which saw people borrow Auracast-enabled headphones and earbuds to hear the first Auracast announcements.
“It’s been incredible,” he said of the launch. “We have been working here for just over a year on the whole development. It was great to have partners on board like Google, Samsung, GN, Frankfurt University, and the Fraport. They were really dedicated to bringing this to life.
“Now, we can hear it in a real environment: It’s in a real airport at a real gate. It’s real announcements, and it brings value to the people, opening up a whole new world for accessibility and audio transmission.”
Sittig has installed the technology in its PAXModular IP paging stations. These are already in situ across the airport, which, in turn, made it easy for the company to introduce Auracast without having to undertake major rebuilding of each terminal or purchase additional hardware.
The solution should be easy to scale, should the two-month trial be deemed successful.
Early feedback seems to be promising, as Johannes explains: “How often are you travelling in an airport and, even if you don’t have hearing loss, you don’t understand a word because the acoustics are very difficult in an airport?
“The Auracast announcements are super clear, you can understand them well. The audio quality is perfect and the feedback we have received has been very good.”
Those new to Auracast will need a helping hand to get connected. The idea of turning to an Auracast Assistant to tune a device into a stream is new to many, and guidance will be necessary.
“People ask if my device is compatible? Am I able to use this?” Johannes says, adding that the launch is just the beginning and that people will look back on the event as a day to remember.
“I think this will change the landscape completely for users and how Auracast is interacted with in the systems. I’m super excited; this opens up so many possibilities.
“We have been doing announcements at airports for 35 years, and we have not had a solution for people with hearing loss. Hearing loops in airports is not practical, so there was nothing really – we couldn’t find a solution.
“Now we have a solution in Auracast, and this enables us to give the passenger a completely different journey through the airport.”
There will be an opportunity to learn more about this trial at the Passenger Terminal Conference, to be held at Excel London on Wednesday, March 18.
Johannes will be taking part in a panel discussion with Marcel Brühne, passenger and IT solutions terminal operations specialist at Fraport, and Thomas Olsgaard, principal engineer at GN Hearing.
Among the topics that will be discussed is “How airports can integrate Bluetooth Auracast seamlessly into existing systems”.
For more details on the event, or to book a place, log on to: https://www.pte-world.com/ptx26c-passenger-terminal-conference/panel-discussion-frankfurt-airports-auracast-pilot-a-blueprint-for-inclusive-passenger-communication
For more on Sittig Technologies and its PAXGuide system, log on to: https://www.sittig-tech.com/
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