JR West (West Japan Railway Company) unveiled to the press for the first time the digital variable guide signs “One to One” and “Mass” to be installed at the Umekita (Osaka) underground station, scheduled to open in spring 2023, and the world’s first full-screen platform doors.
One to One,” a digital variable guide sign, is a new type of guide sign that allows users to register their destination on their smartphones and have their own personalized direction of travel displayed on a guide sign installed at the station.
To use the system, the user enters the destination (cab stand, restroom, etc.) into his/her smartphone and sets the destination in advance. A mark is then displayed on the smartphone for the user’s exclusive use. When you approach an information sign, your own mark and direction of travel are displayed on the sign. When you follow the directions, your own mark and direction of travel are continuously displayed on the next sign, allowing you to reach your desired destination without getting lost.
The practical application of the “One to One” digital variable information sign will reduce the time and effort required to find and ask station staff for directions, thereby contributing to improved convenience for passengers and more efficient work by station staff.
Mass,” another digital variable information sign, is an information sign that displays more information by constantly changing the fixed information such as “exit” and “line number. This allows for real-time provision of not only destination information, but also information on train delays, etc. This type of information sign is not a “one to one” type of information sign that is tailored to the needs of each passenger, but rather a sign that constantly changes to display the information that is needed by a larger number of passengers.
And the combination of this digital variable guide sign “Mass” and the platform door is the world’s first full-screen platform door. The platform door itself has been redesigned to completely shield the platform and tracks with a platform door. The platform doors themselves have been redesigned to completely shield the platform and tracks, providing greater safety than conventional platform doors, and when combined with the digital variable information signs, provide more information to passengers in an easier-to-understand manner.
This allows users to check more detailed train information at a glance, such as train name, time, and car number at the boarding gate. Moreover, since the signage portion of the full-screen platform door is movable in accordance with the train, it can be used for all types of trains, from two-door cars with boarding and exiting doors only at the front and rear of the car to three-door cars. The new station will first be installed on one of the tracks.
In addition, as a safety measure, the system uses not only the human eye but also a function that detects the load on the door’s moving motor, as well as 2D and 3D sensors, to detect if passengers are in contact with the platform doors, if they are caught between the doors, or if they are trapped between the train and platform doors. The safety of passengers is also ensured.
JR West has positioned the Umekita (Osaka) Underground Station as a station that will take on the challenge of materializing the “JR West Technology Vision” and has been working toward its realization. Furthermore, JR West has already announced that the station will be the center of the “JR WEST LABO,” a testing ground for innovation.
Mr. Hajime Komori of JR West’s Innovation Division said, “We would like to show the world what a new station (station of the future) should look like, and if there are any usable technologies (new technologies that have been realized), we would like to deploy them in existing stations more and more. We have been developing the Umekita (Osaka) underground station as a testing ground for the future. We would like to continue to use it as a place to test the latest technologies.
© Source travel watch
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