Skip to main content

T-Box annunciator

The T-Box, from Mentor Engineering, is a state-of-the-art text-to-speech voice annunciation device for fixed-route transit ITS solutions. It provides next-stop announcements and updates onboard LED signs for riders inside the bus. Outside the vehicle, T-Box identifies the route and destination to passengers waiting at a stop when the doors open. Simple to use, the device speaks phrases entered via a text file in English, French, or Spanish, saving agencies time and money on recording studios and voice talen
June 19, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
The T-Box, from 691 Mentor Engineering, is a state-of-the-art text-to-speech voice annunciation device for fixed-route transit ITS solutions. It provides next-stop announcements and updates onboard LED signs for riders inside the bus. Outside the vehicle, T-Box identifies the route and destination to passengers waiting at a stop when the doors open. Simple to use, the device speaks phrases entered via a text file in English, French, or Spanish, saving agencies time and money on recording studios and voice talent. Agencies can preview and fine-tune pronunciations using a desktop-based text-to-speech programme which allows for the creation of custom dictionaries. T-Box will also play pre-recorded WAV files and convert abbreviations into fully spoken text.

In addition, messages can be transmitted in real time to an entire fleet wirelessly, and updates can be performed with low-cost Wi-Fi in an agency's bus yard. According to Mentor Engineering, T-Box removes the need to physically visit the vehicle for upgrades, allowing an agency to achieve enormous time savings.

T-Box will reduce driver distraction by automatically announcing any message an agency may need to broadcast to its passengers. It also monitors ambient noise in the bus and self-adjusts speaker volume to ensure that messages are always heard.

Related Content

  • Covid-19 and transportation: Maintaining critical operations in times of crisis
    September 12, 2020

     

    What were the major impacts of Covid-19 on transportation?

    At the peak of the shutdowns, passenger use of airports and mass transit was down 90 per cent. Use of roads by private vehicles was 60 per cent lower and use of commercial vehicles was down 10 per cent. Public transit was down 76 per cent and had to keep operating to get essential workers to their places of employment.

  • Apps help passengers avoided overcrowded public transport
    May 30, 2013
    David Crawford reviews innovations in the comfort zone. Anyone who rides public transport knows that, perhaps second only to delays, overcrowding is a critical part of the passenger experience,” says Nir Erez, CEO of Moovit, the Israel-based social transportation app developer. The app is aimed at taking real-time user feedback on transit and making it available to a wider audience of travellers. Currently available on iPhone and Android, it plans to add Windows 8 and other platforms in the future. Moovit i
  • Is DSRC progressive enough for future connected mobility?
    February 3, 2012
    Dedicated Short Range Communications technology, says Cisco's Paul Brubaker, is not by itself progressive enough to sustain long-term innovation in the connected mobility environment - and yet IPv6 and other developments remain largely ignored by policy-makers
  • Manchester seeks smart but not selective transport solutions
    January 25, 2018
    Smarter transport relies on better communications both with travellers and between transport providers. Andrew Williams reports. Inrix’s prediction that the cost of traffic congestion will rise by 63% to £21bn per year by 2030 clearly illustrates that, in addition to the ongoing inconvenience and inefficiency, ongoing gridlock is a significant drain on the economy. It is against this backdrop that a Cisco-led consortium has launched CitySpire, a smart transport programme that uses location-based services a