A leading cruise operator is installing digital signage screens across its range of ships to provide way-finding and safety information for guests.
Digital signage now on cruise ships
Royal Caribbean are installing digital signs for wayfinding, which will also provide details of onboard activities, real-time updates, and customised directions and routing, while LED Video Walls installed across the pool decks will provide cruise ship entertainment programmes.
Digital signage is an ideal medium for modern cruise ships, which are like floating cities containing hundreds of passengers, multiple decks, shops, restaurants and entertainment facilities, so finding an effective method of communicating with passengers is essential.
Digital signage has many advantages, especially in such a scheduled environment like a cruise ship where programmes and arrival times become subject to changes, the screens enabling real time updates and providing passengers with the latest news and schedule changes.
Using digital signage on board a boat, particularly outdoors, can pose problems for the technology, though. While all outdoor digital signage requires comprehensive protection, ensuring weather elements can’t get at the screen, on an ocean-going cruise ship protection against salt-water needs considering.
Salt-water provides some serious challenges for outdoor digital signage; not only can the water itself cause problems, damaging the screen if allowed to penetrate, but salt-water also causes corrosion.
Any screen located in or near an ocean environment needs protecting against salt-water, even if the screen is quite far inland, as sea-spray, and therefore salt-water, can travel on the breeze.
Another problem in ocean locations is the threat of wind-blown dust and debris. As oceans are flat, with no topographical features, the areas tend to be windier than locations inland.
Wind-blown dust is just as damaging as water if allowed to penetrate and outdoor digital signage enclosure as dust can constitute all sorts of materials, including conductive elements that can short-circuit electronics.
Dust also causes overheating by blocking vents and clogging up fans, so outdoor digital signage enclosures need dust proofing as well as waterproofing.
