Digital avatars for travel with Robert Cunningham, Innovation Manager, LNER

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About this episode

Robert Cunningham of LNER chats to us about digital avatars, their use in travel and the success it brings.

Presented by Deepgram

Presented by DeepgramDeepgram is a Speech Company whose goal is to have every voice heard and understood. We have revolutionized speech-to-text (STT) with an End-to-End Deep Learning platform. This AI architectural advantage means you don’t have to compromise on speed, accuracy, scalability, or cost to build the next big idea in voice. Our easy-to-use SDKs and APIs allow developers to quickly test and embed our STT solution into their voice products. For more information, visit:

Digital Avatars in train stations

London North Eastern Railway has been trialling digital avatars in its train stations to help travellers with a wide variety of needs. Innovation Manager, Robert Cunningham, joins us to share the LNER journey into conversational AI applications and discusses the why, what and how.

00:00 Intro and Welcome Deepgram
2:26 Introduction to Robert Cunningham and about LNER
10:30 Natural language technology and tooling maturity
15:36 LNER conversational automation journey
20:30 Where robert started with AI LNER
22:50 How the avatar was positioned purely for LNER
26:10 How to encourage the customer to speak in a natural language friendly manner
27:50 How to help people understand how to use the avatar
30:40 Figuring out what people would need to know from the avatar
35:00 The trial in Newcastle train station
41:00 The development process
49:45 Making people understand they are speaking to a bot not a human
53:40 The success from the trial
1:01:37 Outro

 

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Kane Simms

A strategic AI advisor who, for the past decade, has helped business leaders and product owners transform customer experience using conversational and generative AI.

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