StarPal is making coach transport accessible and compliant with PSVAIR, using AI and gaming technologies
StarPal is exhibiting its portable passenger information kit for PSVAIR compliance and is entering the Innovation Challenge. By September, 55 kits had been deployed by 18 operators.
The kit puts an animated character on screen who announces each stop in audio and in text, triggered by GPS. The avatar is rendered in real time using game engine technology – where StarPal’s founders came from before they started building passenger information equipment. The result is a presence on screen that passengers actually look at, rather than a line of scrolling text.
Deployed in as little as 48 hours
“Operators tell us that the incumbents are able to deliver with a three-month lead time, when we are now able to do it in three days,” says Jerome, CEO of StarPal. Deployment typically runs one to two weeks from order to first service, but when an operator has a contract starting on Monday, StarPal has gone from order to in service in 48 hours.
Nothing to do in the vehicle
The kit is managed entirely in the cloud, with live updates and no USB stick or vehicle visit required. The driver presses one button to pick the route, and everything after that is hands-free. Routes are built by uploading the PDF of a running board, which AI reads and turns into a stop sequence. GeoJSON and other formats are supported, and integrations with telematics platforms including Samsara are in progress.
Welsh, voiced natively
Welsh is supported natively and voiced, giving passengers a warm, familiar accent rather than a cold translation.
Every announcement logged
Operators follow their fleet in real time from the StarPal portal. Every announcement is logged – which vehicle, which stop, what time – giving operations teams an immediate answer when a passenger or authority asks what was announced and when. StarPal also offers ‘Hyper Care’ support, delivered remotely by phone or video with no engineer visit required.
Built with operators
Coach operators have co-designed successive versions of the product, including The Box, a next-generation unit that connects to a coach’s existing screens and sound system. The Box is coming soon, at a lower price and with even simpler installation.
“We’re judged on simplicity, so everything we build is measured by how quickly it goes in and how little the driver has to think about it. The kit arrives, it goes on, one button, and the announcements happen.”
Tanguy Dewavrin, COO and co-founder, StarPal
StarPal will run live demonstrations throughout the show, where visitors can watch a kit make live announcements and even create their own. Operators considering the kit can also ask to be put in touch with operators already running it.
About StarPal
StarPal builds passenger information systems for coach and bus operators, combining conversational AI with real-time 3D technology from the video games industry. It is a Techstars London alumnus and a National AI Awards 2025 winner.
Visit StarPal on stand 583 at Euro Bus Expo 2026, 3–5 November, NEC Birmingham.