Tourist Information System
7/9/2018
Introduction
Tourist information systems and ticket machines in stations are popular because they make it super easy and convenient for tourists, and they don’t need too many resources for operation. Because they can operate without staff, they are especially good for those remote villages with tiny populations. These systems still need to connect to a central server for data processing, but the hardware specification only needs be entry level, with multiple I/O connection for different types of output like ticketing and printing. They also need to be compact and low profile so they can be easily integrated into space-limited HMI machines.
Requirements and Solution
Many small provincial train stations in the countryside lack sufficient staff to manage them, and they lack a decent budget needed to hire and lure people from away from other cities. One local system integrator (SI) wanted to design a tourist information system with ticketing machine functions to put into several stations. Advantech’s EPC-S101 slim type embedded system was able to easily fit into their machines and it also provided comprehensive I/O, such as 6 x USB ports for barcode scanners, USB 3.0 for cameras, 4 x COM ports for ticketing and printing, 2 x Gbe LAN ports for fast Internet connection, and VGA and HDMI support to enable dual display output. Advantech’s EPC-S101 embedded box computer solution allowed the SI to quickly find the right transportation solution that could be easily integrated into several information and ticketing machines on station platforms.
