Bonn gets smart with Papercast e-paper bus stop displays

Stadtwerke Bonn Bus und Bahn (SWBV), the Bonn municipal citizen service authority, is trialling Papercast e-paper bus stop displays as part of its long-term goal to provide sustainable mobility services to the public.

The ‘Paperless Bus Stop’ project aims to replace paper timetables with dynamic digital displays that show live bus arrivals for customers at the bus stop. This field test is part of an initial evaluation of different display technologies.

Papercast was selected to demonstrate the unique attributes of e-paper technology, due to its advanced stage of development. Not only did SWB’s market research identify Papercast as the strongest e-paper based solution, but the displays met the general criteria of high resolution picture quality, combined with mobile connectivity and solar power supply.

“We needed a solution that offered solar power, mobile connectivity and a solid backend system for generating the information on the display – Papercast has implemented this to a very good standard,” comments Jan Starke, Traffic Telematics at SWB. “With the web interface we are able to change the content from anywhere. The quality of the display is excellent, you are able to read the screen clearly even in strong sunlight.”

Papercast is revolutionising the way operators provide passenger information at the bus stop. The unique attributes of e-paper make it ideal for outside use, with unbeatable screen visibility, even in direct sunlight. Couple this with wireless connectivity and the exceptionally low power consumption achieved by Papercast’s engineers, and the displays can be continuously solar powered without changing the battery – no power or connectivity cables are required. Additionally, Papercast’s sophisticated cloud-based management system offers simple integration with open data standards, as well as the ability to control all aspects of the display and its content remotely. Transport authorities can now provide live arrivals and other information to passengers at bus stops where previously it would not have been feasible.

Designed, developed and produced in its entirety in-house, Papercast was launched in March 2016 after comprehensive field testing. One year later the advanced quad-core e-paper driver (EPD) board was launched to power the ‘next generation’ range of e-paper displays and in July 2017 a new ruggedized IP65-rated enclosure was introduced. The technology is under continual development to retain its status as the most advanced technology of its kind on the market.