UK: London Overground operating concessionaire Arriva Rail London is to test technology that translates digital passenger information into British Sign Language which can be accessed through a smart device via a personalised digital avatar.
The Luna platform supplied by GoMedia uses translation technology from Signapse.
Trials are to be undertaken at Hackney Central, Hackney Downs, Hoxton, Upper Holloway and Willesden Junction stations from July until September.
QR codes will direct users to a webpage with station facility information, announcements, live departures and disruptions notifications.
The trial is being supported by the Department for Transport’s First of a Kind 2023 programme.
ARL said passengers who are deaf or have hearing loss can struggle to access information, particularly during service disruption, as information is often shared through audio announcements and is not always available on visual displays or signs. Text and audio options are also available for non-BSL users, which could benefit people who wear noise cancelling headphones because of noise sensitivity.
‘With GoMedia’s other accessibility solutions, Visor and HEAR now expanding across the UK transport network and being evaluated by rail operators across the globe, we envisage a future where Luna can be combined with these solutions to provide full end-to-end journey navigation and information to passengers in BSL as well as audio and text in 33 languages’, said GoMedia Managing Director Roger Matthews on July 1.
