Transport for London trials smart posters

Transport for London (TfL) is piloting information system centres around Blackfriars Underground station that offer maps, directions and travel advice transmitted to mobile phones.

The three-month trial will see near-field communication (NFC) technology embedded in a number of 'touchpoint' posters around the station which can interact with NFC-enabled phones.

When a NFC-enabled handset is placed against the smart poster, it will pinpoint the location of the passenger and transmit detailed and up-to-date information about their journey.

The Visualisation of Real-time Transport Interchange project is a collaboration between TfL, Imperial College London and transport intelligence company Kizoom, with funding from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.

The information will include directions to the next stage of the journey, how to get there, how long the transfer will take and when the next service will arrive.

This includes all modes of transport in the vicinity of Blackfriars, namely tube, national rail, buses and river services.

After touching the NFC-enabled mobile phone to the touchpoint poster the phone application will inform the passenger of their current location, position them on a map displayed on the handset and show the journey times of the most appropriate connection to their destination.

"The main aim of this trial is to ease the transition from one mode of public transport to another by giving passengers directions of where to go next and up-to-date travel connection details so that they are better informed," said Dr Janko Mrsic-Flogel, head of mobile innovation at TfL.

"We are integrating positions of underground trains, buses, railway and even riverboats to give the user accurate information on their best connection to their destination."

The trial will involve 19 smart posters in and around Blackfriars, including the underpasses, and will be trialled in the first instance by a small number of specially enabled handsets.

The posters do not require a power source, but are powered by induction from the mobile phone handset.

As the pilot progresses the number of handsets will increase to around 500 by the end of the year.

The passenger information software was developed by Imperial College London's internet centre and is a downloadable mobile Java application.

There is no information available about the NFC-enabled phones that trial users will be using.