I watched what the iPad of KDDI introduced to the Shinkansen to "enhance the potential of the Shinkansen"

In JR West which operates the Sanyo Shinkansen and the Hokuriku Shinkansen, as part of our efforts to "increase the potential of the world-renowned bullet train", it will be on the Hokuriku Shinkansen from March 2015 and on the Sanyo Shinkansen from July 1, 2015 All crewmembers who take office now began carrying the iPad. Since this time the opening was held about 4 months after the opening of the system that was developed jointly with KDDI · au set in the Hokuriku Shinkansen settled for about 4 months, see what the detail is like I decided to come.

All flight crews of the Shinkansen carry "iPad": JR West Japan
http://www.westjr.co.jp/press/article/2014/12/page_6616.html


That's why I arrived at JR Kanazawa Station, the venue for the presentation. The Kanazawa station is the first train station in the west of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line.


Reporters heading to the bullet train station. After this, a demonstration of the appearance of actually using the iPad actually in the car is supposed to be carried out.


Hokuriku Shinkansen waiting for you at home. It was a beautiful car body of shiny Tsurutsuru regardless of where we saw the vehicle soon after the start of operation. By the way, there are two types of "Hokuriku Shinkansen" "W7 series" and "E7 series", but this time it is a vehicle of JR West JapanW7 seriesIt is used.


In front of the aim of the press' s camera, there was a figure of a conductor who held the iPad mini.


It is said that the conductor, the cabin crew, iPad mini, and the driver iPad Air are being paid.


The press got into the car and started the demonstration. This time the vehicle has been entirely rented out and a demo was actually held back and forth between Kanazawa and Toyama.


Inside the car, the conductor, Toshiyuki Yokota, of the JR West Japan Kanazawa Shinkansen train district carried out a demonstration. Yokota conductor, who was told by passengers "Is there a good sight spot somewhere?", Picked up iPad mini and began searching tourist information to show passengers.


Mr. Yokota shows the screen "How about this place?"


On the screen, "Kanazawa 21st Century Museum of Art" was displayed like Kanazawa.


It is also possible to see Alecolle information while actually touching the screen.


You can actually see how Yokota is showing guides to passengers using iPad mini's app in the following movie.

A state of a conductor who carries out sightseeing guidance to passengers with KDDI's iPad mini in the Hokuriku Shinkansen - YouTube


The iPad mini that Yokota had had was the size that fits in the uniform pocket. When I asked, "For this reason my uniform is new?", I got a kind of laughing answer that seemed to be slightly disappointing, "No, it was by chance (laugh)".


There was a strap on the back, and it was possible to hold with hold by hand. It seems that commercial products are being diverted as the case itself, which seems to be considered shock resistance, such as equipped with cushions at the four corners.


Although it is a case of the above-mentioned handheld type, it can also be used as a shawl type attaching a long strap. It seems that it is possible to change this choice freely by the crew.


It is also possible to take it like this in front of you. Although it seems to stop calling without thinking unintentionally, since calling useless may affect business, it seems better to refrain from as much as possible.


In this way, although the iPad for JR West's crew demonstrated demonstration of the use scenes with actual passengers, in fact this effort has been introduced with several aims, such as improving the efficiency of operations other than improving passenger service What is being done. For the details of such efforts, briefing sessions were held together on the day.

◆ About JR West and KDDI's efforts
Prior to the demo on Shinkansen, briefing sessions of business by stakeholders were held.


In 2015, the Sanyo Shinkansen celebrates its 40th anniversary from the start of business, and the Hokuriku Shinkansen opens newly, and it is also the timing when major events overlap as JR West.


In "Medium-Term Management Plan 2017" that JR West has set up, we are taking measures to "enhance the potential of the Shinkansen" which makes up a part of our priority strategy, and this time the introduction of iPad is " Strengthening the provision of information to customers "and" lightening the operators and conductors of handles "as a solution.


In the initiative, JR West had about 890 in the Sanyo Shinkansen and about 180 in the Hokuriku Shinkansen to introduce the iPad, practicing business brush up. According to the introduction of the tablet terminal, "regulations" describing various rules conventionally ranging from 2 to 3 kg fell within the terminal of only 700 g ~ 800 g, which seems to play a role in reducing the work burden.


IPad Air of the 9.7 inch display for the driver, and iPad mini of the 7.9 inch display to the conductor and flight attendants. Terminals are not reusable, and dedicated terminals are paid one by one to all crew. Four main business applications of "train operation information application", "main line connection timetable application", "regulation / manual application", "visiting customer guide application" are installed in the terminal. All of these applications are based on JR West 's own development.


"Train service information application, Information on operation of Shinkansen and conventional lines including JR companiesreal timeIt is possible to list it with. It is a mechanism for grasping the ever-changing traveling situation in real time in hand.


"Busy connection timetable application"Connects information on Shinkansen and conventional lines in real timeSearchableApps.


"Regulation · Manual viewing application"An application that digitized a large amount of materials that had been carried on a paper base so far and put it on a tablet. We are realizing weight saving by paperless · digitization, and there are many merits such as being able to deal with by just downloading data even when updating the contents. In addition, by storing the guide materials provided to passengers abundantly in the interior, we are able to manipulate various information with materials at hand.


"Visiting Japan Customer Guide ApplicationIs an application used to guide foreign tourists visiting Japan that show an increasing trend. English / Chinese (Simplified / Traditional) / Korean Questions and Answers prepared according to the assumed situations are stored, and the objective is to provide smooth guidance to people who are not good at Japanese I am doing it. Although the content was shown, rich conversation patterns were stored, but there was no such feature as automatic translation as if you were speaking in a voice like Google Translate.


In order to realize the operation of such an application with secured high security, JR West has been working together with KDDI to establish a mechanism.


In KDDI, we blocked access from outside for JR West Japan onlyClosed networkWhenPrivate cloudBy constructing a system, we can establish a mechanism that can securely handle provisions related to operation, manuals, confidential information and so on. Using au's network, efforts have been made to provide a comfortable use environment anywhere. Communication with the base station is of course encrypted, securing confidentiality. Furthermore, the data in the terminal is also encrypted, and data can be erased remotely even in the unlikely event of terminal powders, so the emphasis is placed on protecting sensitive sensitive information concerning operation.


In addition, there are many tunnels along the Hokuriku Shinkansen, and it is also true that there are cases in which communication is actually discontinued. Even in such cases, "offline mode" is prepared for the application, so it seems that most of the functions can be used with the data accumulated inside.

Here is the terminal actually used. IPad Air to be paid to the driver from the left, iPad mini to be provided to conductor and cabin crew, and iPad mini housed in handheld case and stand type case.


Although it is a little dark, the menu screen of regulations / manual viewing application is like this. Manuals related to vehicle information and operation, "operator standards" of operator and conductor, etc. can be confirmed on the tablet. Of course, these information are something that ordinary passengers can not see and photography is not good at the time of interview. In the unlikely event that the terminal is lost or stolen, it is incorporated a mechanism that can delete the contents remotely.


The menu screen of the visiting customer guide tool is kore. A menu was set according to situations and types of information required and designed to be accessible at once.


On the "From the conductor to the customer" screen, items such as basic guidance, correspondence when lost Kip, manners guide etc. are lining up.


"Japan Rail PassCorrespondence concerning slurry. In order to operate Japan Rail Pass, which is sold overseas and mainly used by tourists visiting Japan, it is also important to expand such troubleshooting contents.


When guiding a free seat, pick a car number etc from the screen pull down menu and tap "Final" in the lower right ... ....


In this way, the explanation in English was displayed on the screen.


Even Chinese is this street. Traditional Chinese characters are displayed on the screen, but of course it corresponds to simplified Chinese characters. In addition to this, Korean translation display is supported.


Also, a guide map along the Hokuriku Shinkansen is installed.


Based on the requests of passengers, we can propose various destinations. This screen is provided only in Japanese, so it may be a bit disappointing that guidance in foreign languages ​​is not installed.


Because station map and so on are also prepared, it was possible to correspond graphically to the inquiry of transfer.


As you can see, the KDDI iPad introduced by JR West has been introduced as one of the efforts to improve passenger service as well as "improve the potential of the Shinkansen" by improving operations . Although it was an announcement by JR West this time, the same system was introduced in JR East. It is said that the number of visitors to Japan coming to Japan for riding the Shinkansen is also increasing, so it seems that it is encouraging to upgrade the power of the Shinkansen by such efforts.