London’s Gatwick Airport (LGW) has introduced new beacon technology to helps travellers navigate its two terminals – with retailers able to detect and send proximity-based offers or promotional messages to consenting passengers.

In a world first, LGW has installed 2,000 battery-powered digital beacons, which feature an augmented reality wayfinding tool showing directions to passengers in the camera view of their mobile devices.

Abhi Chacko, Head of IT Commercial & Innovation, Gatwick Airport said: “By providing the infrastructure we’re opening the door for a wide range of tech savvy airport providers, including our airlines and retailers, to launch new real-time services that can help passengers find their way around the airport, avoid missing flights or receive timely offers that might save them money.”

NO PERSONAL DATA COLLECTED

The new navigation technology is currently being incorporated into some of the Gatwick apps, with the airport also in discussion with airlines to enable indoor positioning and wayfinding to feature on their apps service.

Airlines could also use the beacons to send reminders to late-running passengers via their airport app, or decide whether or not to offload their luggage so flights can keep to schedule.

LGW says no personal data will be collected, although generic information gathered on ‘people densities’ in different beacon zones may help to improve airport operations, including queue measurement, streamlining passenger flows and reducing congestion.

“We are proud to be the first airport to deploy augmented reality technology and we hope that our adoption of this facility influences other airports and transport providers so that it eventually become the norm,” adds Chacko.

BLUE DOT POSITIONING

The new beacons, which use an ‘indoor blue dot service’ managed by PointrLabs, are said to be more reliable than GPS road-based navigation systems such as Google or Apple maps, says the airport.

The blue dot technology via the beacons appear on indoor maps and in time can be used within a range of mobile airport, airline or third party apps.

Passengers can access directions to locate check-in areas, departure gates and baggage belts through the camera view of their mobile devices.

The beacons were deployed in three weeks, followed by two months of testing and calibration.

Axel Katalan, CMO, PointrLabs added: “As an ACI member advising on beacon installations around the world and as a company who have been involved in various airport projects from Asia to US, we are pleased to announce that Gatwick Airport will be the first airport with an end-to-end working system with incredible accuracy both in terms of blue-dot location and orientation.”