Zermatt Bergbahnen & Kapsch
Intelligent gondola system
What's the solution about?
The Zermatt Bergbahnen are the highest aerial cableways in Europe. Anyone taking a ride on the mountain railways will hear a technical innovation from Microtronics. Together with Kapsch, an intelligent audio information system was developed.
The IGS Box (Intelligent Gondola System) brings more comfort for passengers. As soon as the mountain railway passes through a trigger point, an information text is played. This contains information about the next stops and also allows advertising messages to be played. For example, tourists can be informed about evening events that they should not miss in Zermatt or promotions in huts.
In the backend, these info texts can be adapted with just a few clicks. Due to environmental conditions and the current weather situation, mountain stations sometimes have to be closed in winter. In the backend of the IGS, the info texts can be conveniently adapted with just a few clicks.
Always informed in case of breakdowns
The nacelle was equipped with automatic standstill detection. After a defined downtime, a breakdown text is played in fully automatically.
If the standstill lasts longer, the operator selects from stored, recorded breakdown texts in the next escalation phase. With one click, these are activated and can be heard in the gondola.
The third escalation level in the event of a breakdown enables a live connection to the gondola. The operator can thus communicate all necessary information live, for example for an evacuation in the gondola.
Individualised gondola ride
But the live text function cannot only be used in the event of a breakdown. With this functionality, non-standard messages that are to be replayed promptly in the gondola are transmitted and played live.
It can be selected whether the text is played on the entire route on a section or in an individual cabin. In special VIP gondolas, this allows visitors to be greeted individually and offered a ride on the Zermatt Bergbahn that is tailored exactly to them.
The cooperation
The IGS Box uses the proven Microtronics core technology. For this purpose, some functions, such as the handling of the audio files and the interfaces to the microphone and the audio speakers, were realised individually for the project.
Via GPS positioning, the location of an individual gondola can be determined exactly and the corresponding information text can be played. The data is transmitted to the central server platform via LTE or WLAN (depending on availability). With this bidirectional connection, the info texts are transmitted (live) from the central server to the IGS.
In addition to the info texts, operating parameters are recorded. This enables more effective and efficient maintenance.
The power supply via a solar panel and an integrated rechargeable battery make the IGS Box self-sufficient and facilitate installation and operation. Management functionalities and rights management on the server round off the overall system.
A separate server interface was programmed for the IGS Box, which perfectly maps the exact requirements of the system. With the API, the data is integrated into the interface via a standardised interface.
In collaboration with:
