- X2O Media, a Barco company, is driving a network of displays that provides important information to thousands of travellers on UP Express,
- Metrolinx’s new express rail train that now connects Canada’s busiest transportation hubs — Toronto’s Union Station and Toronto Pearson International Airport — in just 25 minutes, departing every 15 minutes. The display network is an essential component of the new Union Pearson Express train service that opened on June 6, 2015 in time for the Pan Am and Parapan Am games.
The X2O platform powers approximately 80 display screens across all four stations along the Union Pearson Express route. The networked screens display multiple real-time data sources to inform travellers when the next train will arrive and which track will be used, supply up-to-date flight information, and provide the latest news and weather.
“X2O is thrilled to be part of this innovative air-rail link, which provides passengers with a convenient way of getting into the city and to the airport,” said X2O Media president David Wilkins. “Our visual communications platform gives the Union Pearson Express service an incredible amount of flexibility in its messaging, as well as in its ability to provide consistent access to the timely information that passengers want and need.”
The integration of X2O technology with the Union Pearson Express messaging system enables authorities to target messages to specific screens and even to specific zones of a screen. Union Pearson Express personnel are also able to take over an entire screen for priority messaging as required. Because the X2O platform is designed to work with any kind of screen type, Union Pearson Express will be able to add future displays with confidence in the systems’ interoperability. In addition, the open nature of the X2O platform allows seamless integration with Cisco Interactive Experience Client (IEC) 4600 Series media players, part of the Cisco Interactive Experience Platform, to drive engaging content throughout the installation in real time.
The X2O platform dramatically streamlines content management workflows by simplifying the creation and management of media-rich channels for visual communication networks. Operated via a highly intuitive graphical user interface, the HTML5-enabled software makes it easy to create, schedule, and play out dynamic content to any screen, including digital displays, videowalls, tablets, and smartphones. The platform also simplifies linking to internal and external data sources, facilitating the incorporation of data-driven graphics connected to corporate databases such as SAP, Excel spreadsheets, or RSS feeds. Users simply drag and drop content to create channels quickly from HD video, still images, 3D animations, PowerPoint slides, and more.
