Nowadays, large multinational corporations, governments, and, above all, technology companies have joined the “big data trend. The intention is clear: to gather all possible data to offer users a better service, while improving features and security, among other direct benefits.
Yes, for example, if we collect all the data that flows through an airport and apply it to improve the user experience, what can we achieve?
The use of big data is an incredible opportunity to improve the quality of services and the security of facilities..
We already have outstanding examples of this trend, such as the case of Singapore Airport (Changi Airport), where they have understood the power of information and applied it to the“comfort”Its visitors by adapting its service offering to detected tastes. In a city where stress is something “normal”, the airport managers have managed to create a space that promotes passenger “relaxation” and well-being: you can enjoy gardens with cacti, water lilies, a rooftop pool, a waterfall, and a butterfly house with more than 40 different species.
But this is only the beginning of something much more exciting. In the near future, the passenger experience Not only will it be less stressful, but it will also be personalised. The question is: how? Very simply: by analysing all the data we leave behind when we access an airport and move through all its nooks and crannies. With that information, airlines and airports decide, for instance, where in the premises more staff is needed and at what exact moment to avoid bottlenecks or to increase passenger screening. It is about a more efficient allocation of resources.
Another reference is the Dublin Airport, where they have created an app called Dub Hub which works with Google Maps and serves to guide people throughout the terminal building. In the app, you can see where your favourite shop is located, where the nearest cafe is, or the shortest route to the nearest toilet. This will also be a great advantage for retailers, who will gain more data about their customers to improve and even personalise their offers and experiences.
We can also find other examples of the use of big data in the Barcelona Airport (Terminal T1) and Madrid Airport (Terminal T4), where the technology used was created by the start-up “Seeketing”and is geared towards the sale of products and services. Its solution allows, in a first phase, to know and store data on how passengers move around the terminal (anonymously): whether they visit a fast-food establishment or head to the VIP lounge, whether their chosen transport is the metro or they rent a car, etc. In a second phase, if users connect to the airport's Wi-Fi, it is also possible to send them messages with relevant information, such as, for example, a flight cancellation or the weather forecast for that day in the city.
The project “Smart Passenger Flow Pilot”is another example. Those responsible are clear about it: «It will be possible to know if passengers are in transit or if that airport is their final destination, if they are travelling in economy or ‘business’ class, the number of bags they checked in, if they checked in online or at the airport counters, and when they passed through security... With all this data, behavioural patterns can be defined.‘ With this data, airports have strong arguments to improve and personalise their services.
We have discussed the use of big data at a commercial and comfort level, but another equally important part is the application of this technology to security. There are several lines of work, such as facial recognition or the recognition of suspicious behavioural patterns. The Los Angeles Police Department began using historical data combined with algorithms to predict where security incidents are more likely to occur in the future and to station officers nearby. This mechanism has already reduced crime by 13%% just four months after its implementation. It is anticipated that airport cameras will detect potentially dangerous passengers by cross-referencing databases from various agencies to ascertain all data on a specific individual and be able to intercept them if an intention to carry out any punitive action is predicted.
Big data technology is not about the future but the present, and the European Union knows this. That's why it has created a non-profit organisation called BDVA (Big Data Value Association), whose members are databases, data users, data analysts, and research organisations united with a common goal: to improve society using data.
