Rail passengers are being invited to Bristol Temple Meads to test a new Auracast solution that makes multi-lingual announcements possible.
Earlier this year, Connected Places Catapult announced that XRAI and Ampetronic’s bid to develop AI-powered multilingual announcement systems had been successful. This project aims to help railway passengers understand real time platform changes and travel updates through instant translation, captions and accessible Auracast audio.
The project follows on from last year’s test of Auracast for platform announcements: recently, Brighton’s railway station became the first in the UK to have its own permanent Auracast system. Elsewhere, Munich’s trains are to incorporate the Bluetooth LE Audio technology from 2028.
Connected Places Catapult helps run the Station Innovation Zone programme in partnership with Network Rail; it is supported by Innovate UK. The programme serves as a testbed where rail technology innovators, buyers and investors can collaborate to shape the stations of tomorrow. Since 2023, the Station Innovation Zone has supported 32 firms, with 11 of those selected to undertake live trials at Bristol Temple Meads.
This year, six-month trials have been operational, each receiving up to £45,000 to support the projects. Among those taking part are DataWharf, which is developing a new journey support tool to help passengers understand stations, disruptions and onward travel with personalised multilingual guidance.
Trace Surveys is the other company, and this is building a rugged multi-sensor device to predict and prevent condensation hazards while monitoring noise, vibration and air quality.
Announcing the scheme, Brian Wortman, Senior Programme Manager at Network Rail, said: “Making stations more accessible for passengers and continuing to improve safety are vitally important areas of focus for us at Network Rail. It offers the chance to see how new solutions can further enhance the experience of passengers.”
Who are XRAI and Ampetronic?
We have written extensively about Ampetronic over the past year. The company, along with its sister firm Listen Technologies, created the Auri system which has been used in many Auracast installations.
This is a professional-grade system that looks a bit like a WiFi router and plugs into an AV desk. Those wanting to listen to the Auracast can use their own devices or borrow receivers that can accept wired loopsets or 3.5mm wired headphones, either supplied by the venue or by the user. These receivers need to be returned at the end of a session.
XRAI uses extended reality (XR) and artificial intelligence (AI) to create real-time transcription and translations.
The company was founded by Dan Scarfe after he visited family for Christmas: his 97-year-old grandfather was struggling to hear conversations despite owning high-tech hearing aids. Dan realised that subtitles helped make television accessible, and this technology could be brought to the world around us. This has led to the development of the world’s first-ever captioning glasses.
Released in 2022, the glasses offer live subtitles that only the wearer can see, not everyone else. The product range includes XRAI ar2, XREAL One, and the Japanese-exclusive QONOQ MiRZA, with more on the way. Languages available include Arabic, Dutch, Malay, Polish, Ukrainian, Welsh and English.
In addition to captioning in the native language, Babelfish technology allows for real-time translation.
For the audio input, it is possible to use an external Bluetooth microphone.
What is happening at the XRAI and Ampetronic trial at Bristol Temple Meads?
A special demonstration event is taking place on Platform 9 of Bristol Temple Meads railway station on Thursday, 6 August.
Anyone can attend and try the AI-powered multilingual audio announcement system.
In a social media post announcing the trial event, XRAI noted: “We’re proud to be working alongside Network Rail, Great Western Railway (GWR) and Connected Places Catapult to showcase how AI and Auracast technology can make passenger information more accessible, more personalised and more inclusive.
“Our team will be on hand with demo equipment, so no compatible device is needed to take part.
“Whether you’re curious about new technology, accessibility, or the future of public transport, we’d love to meet you and hear your feedback.”
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