We love innovation and particularly – surprise, surprise – airport innovation. This one here was sent to us from a very attentive reader who discovered a story about a new way of overlaying digital flight information onto a binocular display at an airport observation deck. The story gets even better as the case study is based on an art installation at Zurich Airport (IATA: ZRH), one of our “like” airports in Europe.

Here’s what PSFK wrote about this:

The Observation Dock B is a popular sightseeing spot at Zurich airport. The 250-meter long open-air observation deck was recently equipped with a pair of airport scopes that allow visitors to look through and reveal real-time infographics.

The digital binocular retrieves data from airplanes and airport buildings and displays information as a graphic overlay. The augmented reality device is able to detect the exact position of airplanes by analyzing real-time data from the control tower and reveal the plane’s carrier, type, destination or point of origin.