Kontron, a leading global provider for embedded computing technology (ECT), announces a teaming agreement with Axinom, to innovatively deliver the ground transportation industry’s first entertainment-ready passenger connectivity platform.
Making ‘bring your own device’ (BYOD) a reality on trains, buses, trams, taxis and in stations, the new integrated solution from Kontron and Axinom enables passengers to have full Wi-Fi connectivity throughout their travels to enjoy services that include streaming video, movies and music along with access to the Internet for e-commerce and other information.
Operators can drastically improve the traveller experience while adding needed connectivity for crew members by employing Kontron’s proven standards-based commercial off the shelf (COTS) computing building blocks combined with Axinom’s content, digital rights and delivery management software solutions.
This mass transit entertainment-ready solution is based on Kontron’s TRACe computers family that is specifically designed and dimensioned for transportation applications in harsh environments. The solution combines the standard TRACe B304-TR, an EN50155 fanless certified computer, and features the Axinom Multimedia Video Server software, which are used to administrate the video content delivery inside coaches.
Extremely powerful, TRACe is an ideal platform for Axinom software and can achieve, simultaneously, 250x Full HD (3 Mbps) videos, consuming no more than 20% of the 4-core CPU. Entertainment ready, the solution also employs the TRACe G304-TR ,an EN50155 certified wireless gateway that can aggregate links to guarantee the quality of Internet at each stage of travel. Internal Wi-Fi services are provisioned through TRACe’s Wi-Fi Access Points (AP) dual radio antennas (2.4GHz and 5GHz) offering 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac end user device connectivity.
At the edge, each AP has the capability to serve, simultaneously, about 80-100 connections based on good signal levels, proper internal antenna positioning and provided the end user smart devices are connected in 802.11ac.
With TRACe, end user smart devices can seamlessly connect to the least loaded access point for the highest level of wireless connectivity. In addition, TRACe gateways are able to provide excellent bandwidth in an "off-line" mode with entertainment content locally saved to a TRACe server that only requires an "on-line" connection for maintenance and content updates. Furthermore, leveraging the Kontron Health Management embedded in TRACe allows operators to securely supervise the entire entertainment solution.
Axinom’s software suite includes Content Management System (CMS), Content Delivery System (CDS) and Digital Rights Management (DRM) capabilities. The Axinom CMS is an innovative workflow engine that ensures secure and scalable handling of all types of content including videos, audio, advertising, products, magazines, news, payment transactions and services. It also supports delivery to different client platforms such as web browsers and mobile applications for smart phones and tablets on all client OS platforms including Windows, iOS, and Android.
The CDS allows incremental, secure, and robust bidirectional content synchronisation using standardised communication protocols. Using the DRM software enables operators to offer a wide range of client OS platforms with a single service by simultaneously supporting multiple DRM technologies. Axinom’s is the first multi-DRM product that can operate in a disconnected fashion enabling premium video on vehicles.
All the software is designed to run both on-premise and in cloud data centers for a truly global service delivery.
"At Axinom, we developed our media, aerospace and train products and services in a way, that all industries benefit. Train operators can create, manage and maintain a wide range of next-generation entertainment, infotainment, e-commerce and connectivity services in a simplified, cost-effective and secure way on open platforms like the remarkable Kontron TRACe", said Ralph Wagner, CEO at Axinom.
"Kontron is developing business partnerships with software providers such as Axinom that guarantee a fully operational and cost-effective solution for the transportation industry," said Robert Negre, Head of Transportation Business Line at Kontron. Ensuring future-proofing, we have designed all the building blocks with a comprehensive set of APIs so that providers can build their own solutions efficiently.
Our solutions also interact with third party systems that may be required such as ERP, recommendation engines, content providers and post production studios."
For more detailed information on the company’s TRACe transportation computers, contact Kontron.