We have seen E Ink displays being used innovatively, but they could have been prepared to see them used as part of passenger handles on a commuter train. As ITHome reported, such 4G-enabled bright passenger handles have been deployed by advertising firms on the Shenzhen Metro Line 4 trains. Specifically, each intelligent handle uses a pair of 5.56-inch colour e-paper that can be used for advertising purposes.

The benefits of such a means of advertising using a 4G-connected smart e-paper solution are manifold. For instance, agencies will be able to push out ads dynamically as and when needed, which otherwise would have been a considerable exercise involving a lot of workforce and person-hours. Instead of manually changing the paper advertising on each handle, agencies will have to push a different ad over the air for those to be shown on the handles.

By eliminating the complexities of manually replacing the ads, advertising companies can deploy ads more efficiently and effectively. It can be according to the time of the day the train is running or the type of crowd thronging the trains. This will lead to better and more effective use of ads as those can be targeted more specifically to the section of the group such ads are meant for.

Apart from the ease with which the ads can be changed, such a means of advertising is also environment-friendly, given that there are no paper or other single-use materials involved for the actual advertising purpose. Also, given the nature of E Ink displays, there is no cost for displaying the ad. Instead, since the e-paper display draws power only when the content is changed, there is only the least amount of energy drawn from the grid.

Apart from advertising, such displays can also be handy for pushing out information during times of crisis or calamities. Passengers can turn to such shows for the latest updates and the routes for safe evacuation.

Overall, this makes for an effective means of advertising or getting connected with the crowds that are both easy to manage while being safe for the environment. The benefits are almost the same as with Electronic Shelf Labels, where store management can change the content of such labels dynamically as and when required.

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