With countless application possibilities, transparent displays can yield significant benefits for transportation authorities and the traveling public. The following use cases are particularly relevant for airports, train depots, or transit stations:

Simple-to-install mesh curtains are the most widely used form of this technology. Nexnovo’s pre-sized array of connected LED stick elements are meticulously arranged on a rectangular cabinet, allowing for up to 85 percent transparency. Side by side placements will create a visual effect of a full-color video screen without blocking the view in front or behind. Similarly, ClearLED’s Wall series is a modular mesh curtain plug-and-play solution, incorporating built-in power supplies and receiving cards for endless combinations without size limitations.

When choosing among transparent display options, it is important to understand key differentiators. A few considerations to maximize a custom installation:

50-foot-tall transparent LED media wall at the Ottawa National Art Center. Left: exterior view. Right: interior view. Images courtesy of ClearLED, Inc.

A wide range of versatile multimedia displays are introducing unconventional shapes, colors, and interactive messaging. Increasing in popularity are transparent light emitting diode (LED) displays. Through a range of see-through screen technologies, these displays add an even greater “wow factor,” dramatically changing an area’s look and function.

Here is a summary of commercially available transparent surface-mounted LED and transparent organic LED (OLED) display technologies:

Proactively engaging an experienced technology consultant can ensure novel installations are effectively integrated into a facility’s architectural design, producing a clearly unique destination.

Transportation hubs present particularly appealing use cases. Visually captivating multimedia technology can help turn airports or rail stations into memorable destinations on their own.

Transparent displays do not block or alter a facility’s structures, creating an opportunity to introduce new technology within a historic space. Plus, transparent signage, films, or mesh curtains can seamlessly integrate into a facility without taking up much space — if any.

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An LG 14mm-pitch LED film display creates a storefront window experience for Moose Knuckles at Vancouver’s Pacific Centre shopping center. Photo courtesy iGotcha Media

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Standard displays can dominate an area’s architectural composition, blocking daylight, or creating distractions when screens are turned off. Transparent displays can address these concerns, especially if design teams proactively incorporate the technology to achieve true architectural integration. The displays can be shaped, molded and programmed to suit essentially any custom application, all while maintaining visibility of the surrounding environment.

In LCD displays there is such a thing as a polarizing filter. This filter will only let light through that is angled, or polarized, at a certain angle.

Transparent displays are uniquely well-suited options for adding multimedia flare, especially within spaces adhering to historic preservation or other restrictive design requirements.

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Display technologies are adding evocative multimedia into every imaginable architectural space, creating new visual experiences within areas once hampered by creative restrictions.

As a relatively new product on the market, transparent LED displays are likely to foster a new generation of creativity — both in terms of the technology’s design form and application as well as the pioneering of new multimedia content specifically produced and tailored for each use case.

These OLED models have the advantage of integrated cameras capable of showcasing 3D, interactive holograms without the use of glasses. Augmented reality touchscreens add an extra layer of engagement that can transform any environment into a dynamic, experiential space with increasing possibilities for hyper customization.

To strategically integrate multimedia technologies, design teams should engage consultants with expertise in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) design and multimedia content development — ideally early in a project’s design process. Burns offers proven experience leveraging the capabilities of these dynamic technologies, combining systems integration and audiovisual systems engineering approaches to achieve bold, long-term multimedia solutions.

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An LCD display requires voltages that are not usually available in the average building and so a power convertor is needed.

An LCD display is an evenly lit rectangular shape made up of smaller rectangular subsections of this shape which are called pixels. The light in the pixels is dimmed and passed through different colour filters which creates a small area in a share of a solid colour, a subpixel.

The main voltage is converted to intermediate DC voltage, usually between 12 and 24V. The power flow then separates to the backlight and the microelectronics. The 5V for the display’s electronics is once again divided into two going to the LVDS receiver and the bias driver.

Both CCFLs and LED have a downside. They are both either point or line light sources. The light however needs to be distributed over a much larger surface and so LCD displays use diffusing and reflecting layers. Diffusers spread the light beams to cover the area they need to light up. Light then travels through a series of unevenly spaced bumps after which the diffused light either travels forward to the actual LCD panel or back. When diffused light travels back it hits a reflector. A reflecting layer guides otherwise wasted diffused light back towards the LCD display panel. A reflecting layer helps increase efficiency of the LCD display.

LCD displays have two polarizing filters behind each other both attached to a glass sheet. Between the polarizing filters are liquid crystals which have the quality of bending light. So, in an LCD display light comes from the backlight and hits the first polarizing filter. It then passes through the liquid crystals where the light is bent a certain amount before it passes through the second polarizing filter.

Transparent LED displays showcase videos on large glass facades without blocking daylight or surrounding structures. Courtesy of Daktronics

The backlight to an LCD display is the source of light, it needs to be white because the emitter delivers light to all subpixels, which are red, green and blue. This white light is usually produced by either CCFLs or LEDs. CCFLs produce fluorescent light using mercury and LEDs don’t and so are much greener.

The SMD stick’s flexibility enables unconventional designs, wrapping around corners and curved surfaces, such as elevator shafts or rounded walls. Facilities can shape and mold visual elements to suit their unique design requirements, working closely with the LED manufacturer to produce bespoke installations in front of curves and corners where video effects can enrich the area without blocking incoming light or prominent facades.

When a standalone screen is needed, transparent OLEDs stand out for their ability to minimize transparency, brightness, and structural concerns. Muxwave’s transparent screen is a completely transparent thin sheet of glass without keels, capable of displaying videos seamlessly. The OLEDs effectively balance information dissemination and the need for unobstructed visibility.

The liquid crystals can actually be controlled with voltage. The amount of voltage used decides how much light is bent and stopped by the second polarizing filter. This is how voltage controls the light traveling through the panel. But for a working LCD display, you need light waves which is where the backlight comes in.

Ultimately the panel is a large piece of grey glass or polymer sheet which dims the pixels. There are many different ways it can do this but the polarization layer is the method used in all the LCD displays today. Light always travels in a certain direction, but it can be rotated along the way, this rotation of light waves is called polarization.

Transparent LED sheets are among the latest display innovations. LG’s thin sheet of self-adhesive material is embedded with LEDs and can be affixed to a variety of surfaces. Think of it like a clear sticker dynamically changing content as it clings to windows. At 53-percent transparency, whatever is behind the window can still be seen. Other attributes include a curvature radius of 1,100 mm. Sizing can be tailored by either connecting multiple film strips together or by cutting the film with scissors. LED film is an innovative option that works for both new spaces where glass will be prominently featured or within existing spaces where glass already exists. Storefronts, balcony barriers, and sliding glass doors are all viable locations.

Similar to a mesh curtain, Daktronics’ SMD stick contains freeform LED arrays that can be combined to create custom shapes. Best placed in front of windows, walkways, and building structures, the combined SMD sticks can play high resolution colorful videos that depict clear images while maintaining 75-percent visibility through to the other side of the display.

Although called “transparent” the name is misleading — the display’s LEDs are not actually invisible. The transparent effect is created by the precise pixel placement and microscopic wiring. This generates an effect where videos can be clearly visible without blocking structures or daylight. When turned off, the viewer does not see the distraction of a black background like on a conventional LED display. Instead, they see the originally intended architectural environment.

These versatile LED panels have pixel pitches starting as small as 3.1 mm for an average minimum comfortable viewing distance of 15 feet. The lightweight modules feature a handle on the back, facilitating effortless assembly, disassembly, and overall handling. The rigid shape and ease of installation make these panels good choices for curtain walls, partitions, behind store windows, or in front of incoming light sources.

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Inside an LCD display you will find the micro-electronics which are the electronics involved in signal processing. They usually split up into two functions – the video signal receiver and the panel driver.

One fun example is Luminary Design’s augmented reality shoe configurator. The installation invites users to select their favorite combination of colors, displayed digitally onto a physical shoe.

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Historic preservation rules, however, oftentimes restrict installations that would alter a facility’s original architectural characteristics. Another common challenge is that travel hubs have limited available real estate, limiting options for where to site large technology installations.

Subpixels are lined up next to each other in such a high density that our eyes cannot distinguish each individual subpixel. This makes the subpixels’ colours flow together – creating millions of different colours.

At the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show, vendors unveiled their latest transparent LED media walls and displays, launching transparent technology into the mainstream.