Alpine Mecca Uses Solar-Powered E-Paper Signs To Guide Visitors

June 1, 2021 by Dave Haynes

E-paper digital signs have been used outside for real-time transit stop information and local directories, but I can’t recall them being used quite like they are in the scenic Bavarian village of Oberstdorf. 

The area is a skiing and hiking mecca, attracting visitors year-round – a lot of them new to the area and filled with questions.

So Oberstdorf developed the Besucherleitsystem – the Visitor Guidance System, which shows in real-time:

• Current calendars and events around main points of interest;
• The current weather forecast;
• The ski slopes and ski trails in operation;
• The latest cable car lift timetables;
• Open/closed trails and hike paths in Oberstdorf;
• Daily opening hours of key tourism service providers;
• On demand pedestrian waymarkers for special events;
• General city information.

The content is refreshed as needed over a 4G cellular network.

The signs, developed by the Slovenian firm Visionect, have solar arrays at the top of their posts. The one in the photo has the most solid base I have ever seen (a big boulder).

The content comes via the CMS software already used by the local government. As such, the platform proved fully compatible with the content management system Oberstdorf already used in its municipal offices, the local web-based Tramino CMS. Combining the existing software and the new electronic paper displays proved to be merely a matter of a few clicks and the Visitor Guidance System was good to go, explains Peter Traskalik, founder and owner of Tramino.