NEWS:

Infotec installs new colour mainboard at Waterloo Station

Infotec's extensive experience of providing passenger information displays to the rail industry continues to be instrumental in designing hardware and creating presentations that are both readable and quick to assimilate whilst providing all the information that the customer needs to know, using industry standard data feeds with which Infotec are well versed.

The new RGB mainboard now installed at Waterloo Station is a prime example of this and the capabilities of our in-house software and hardware engineering teams.

Key features of the project that stand out are:

·         Mechanical design utilises existing support structures

·         The display integrates directly with the existing data feeds without any requirement for changes to the control system

·         The full matrix displays provides a canvas for an infinite variety of presentations both now and into the future.

·         The RGB displays uses unique full black LED to improve off pixel contrasts for improved text presentations

·         The RGB LED modules are designed and manufactured specifically for rugged outdoor applications and have excess brightness to extend the life of the display.

·         The display will have a lifetime that will match standard amber LED displays it is replacing.

·         The display uses Infotec’s unparalleled experience of text rendering on LEDs to provide hybrid fonts with crisp clear text whatever the resolution

·         Use of colour helps to provide a more readable display and gives an additional dimension to the way in which information can be portrayed, e.g. the traffic light (RAG) indicators on the status fields give an immediate eye catching indication of the status of each service without the reader having to trawl through a wall of text. 

·         The Infotec controller software integrates seamlessly with the existing system, managing such things as the panel intensity and, allowing it to be controlled by external Infotec IPH equipment, ensures synchronisation with the other Infotec panels on the span.

·         WAN connectivity to South West Railways Javelin CMS system, allows remote operator and maintainer monitoring, screenshots and updates to the controller, as well as the ability to upload playlists and provide additional media content.

Important to the success of the project, Infotec's mechanical engineers were contracted to design the support steelwork, displays cladding, mounting arrangement and the installation procedure required to fix the 1.5m x 3mm RGB array onto the existing structure.

This included working with qualified structural engineers and Network Rail's own project teams to ensure a safe and seamless installation. Network Rail were able to provide the original foundation drawings for the existing structure to enable the validation process to be completed for the heavier structure.

The inclusion of removable top and bottom cross bars were designed to aid the installation process.  Top bar was for slinging when using the crane and the bottom bar was used to aid the tilt of the unit during installing – this protected the RGB display from being used for manoeuvring purposes.

Careful management, planning and co-operation between the various parties ensured that the installation went without a hitch; removal of the entire display from the packaging crate to being fixed onto the existing structure was completed in less than 30 minutes.

The trial initially has been specifically designed to replicate the information that was provided by the existing displays it replaced. Once feedback from passengers and operators has been collated a second phase of new exciting content and expanded use will be deployed. A second slightly different RGB display is to be installed at Victoria in the coming months to complement the trial of this new versatile technology.

If you would like more information on this project or you have a project you would like to discuss, please do not hesitate to contact us.