Australian technology company, tm stagetec systems, is debuting its new range of passenger information display technology at AusRAIL PLUS 2019.
As patronage increases steadily on rail networks across the region, passenger information systems are more important than ever for efficiency and safety.
Beyond their most common purpose – providing service information – digital displays and public address (PA) systems are being used more often on the concourse and the platform for safety, to manage the flow of commuters, and to provide additional revenue through dynamic advertising.
tm stagetec systems (TMS) general manager, Mark Lownds, tells Rail Express the increasingly varied use of digital displays and PA systems in stations has driven a focus on improved integration and scalability of these systems for TMS’s customers.
“Service information, wayfinding, advertising capabilities – our passenger information displays and digital PA system has all of that integrated by default,” Lownds explained.
Lownds says TMS’s new Smart pi Eye range, making its debut at AusRAIL PLUS, provides a single, scalable and integrated platform for all uses of digital displays in the rail environment.
“These days every system needs to be integrated with every other system, and if you need to make a change, you want to be able to do it all in one place across all the systems,” he explained.
“That’s why our Smart pi Eye series of products is designed to be able to encompass everything from the passenger information display side of things – one digital signage platform for advertising, passenger information, maps, and so on.”
Facilitating this multi-use platform is a web-based content management system (CMS), which provides all global administration controls for both digital displays and PA systems across an operation. Under Smart pi Eye, multiple sizes and types of displays can be managed through the use of templates, which configure to suit size and purpose. This allows CMS administrators to select the display type which can then automatically render the information in the correct format.
Lownds says the web-based approach works across all platforms and updates more easily. “We’ve moved away from having an application installed on the user’s device,” he explained. “When you need to run an update – especially on large operations – you’re not relying on hundreds or thousands of devices to have their application updated. With a web-based platform, once the central server or servers are updated, everything is up to date.”
The use of node servers means for a smaller system, CMS and node functionality can be shared by a single server, or a pair of servers, but then the system can be expanded for larger situations.
This idea of scalability has always been a focus for tm stagetec. “Our philosophy is that everything we provide has to be modular, so you can use the whole solution for all of your needs, or just certain parts of it for what you’d like to,” Lownds said.
TMS’s AusRAIL stand showcases a revised range of the company’s digital PA Network Amplifier Modules (NAMs) for both indoor and outdoor applications. The new modules are capable of extra signal processing and can play out from themselves, and the range has been expanded with a high power version, making it possible to use as a hearing loop amplifier.
“We conduct a lot of testing – particularly in harsh Australian environments – with the aim of making the individual pieces of hardware as reliable and maintenance-free as possible. We use passive cooling and heatsinking rather than fans, for example, in our outdoor devices.”
Lownds and other TMS experts are on hand at AusRAIL PLUS to discuss the company’s experience with digital PA systems, tailored to the transport and infrastructure industries.
Visit tm stagetec systems at AusRAIL PLUS at Stand 46.