A Dutch full-service mobile agency has been awarded the contract for the revamp of ‘HKG My Flight’, Hong Kong International Airport’s mobile application, after an open tender.
The resulting multi-year contract (the length of which remains currently unspecified) will see the mobile agency has been tasked with the development and ongoing support of digital solutions at the Hong Kong gateway.
Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) is one of the world’s busiest airports, serving over 74.7 million passengers in 2018.
Increasingly, HKIA has been leveraging digitalisation to enhance the passenger experience. Airport Authority Hong Kong will pursue this goal with the aid of M2mobi’s Digital Airport Platform, which has been deployed at multiple airports already, including DXB (Dubai International) and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.
HKIA strives to deliver memorable journeys for its passengers through the ‘HKG My Flight’ mobile application. The revamped mobile application will combine different information and functions of the airport, from shops and restaurants to car parking, wayfinding and more.
The Amsterdam-based company will work closely with a local partner in Hong Kong. The Mobile service company noted that its local partner has a distinguished track record of over 40 years of successful business in Hong Kong in IT and digital solutions.
The mobile agency said that the combined experience of the two firms will create a solid basis for delivering successful digital solutions.
Digital Airport Platform
- The Digital Airport Platform (DAP) has been described as a digital solution that drives smart passenger journeys at airports.
- It covers all digital channels and is designed with a modular and scalable approach that makes it easily adaptable to the needs of any airport, the company claimed.
- This digital package provides airports with all essential digital airport communication features and offers advanced innovations on top. It is a modular all-in-one solution that sets a new industry standard.
- DAP sets a new standard of omnichannel communication with passengers. An airport can manage all digital channels and content with a single solution and ensure that its content is always consistent and up to date.
HKIA’s Digital Twin
In October, OpenGov Asia reported that Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) as part of its vision to become a smart airport has created a digital twin of HKIA.
The digital twin is a virtual 3D model in which data from different sources can be integrated, made available instantly, visualized in a human-centric interface and analysed to make predictions in an explainable way.
Digital twins are also constructed for new construction projects to provide a lifelike look of the design and amenities to facilitate better planning and design adjustments.
The creation of HKIA’s digital twin first started with the BIMs of HKIA linked with various operation data from the airport’s asset management system, which is integrated with a geographical information systems (GIS) map to create the static state of the digital twin.
A unity engine – a development platform designed to integrate and create 3D models also used in video games and architecture – is then deployed to navigate the 3D model of the airport in a photo-realistic manner.
To make the digital twin come alive, the model is fed with real-time data from IoT devices deployed throughout the airport. This is coupled with simulation tools, corporate applications and an enterprise analytics platform. This way, HKIA can literally predict what the airport will experience in the future.
The virtual model has been completed for the areas of Terminal 1 that are accessible by passengers, while remaining areas of the airport will be added to the replica in stages.
There is significant potential in digital twin technology and it is certainly something all airports should be looking at. However, a digital twin of an airport can only be truly effective if every available piece of data is used, making it important to ensure there is buy-in from all stakeholders involved in running the airport.
