Ortis Deley

Working as a Line Resident with Great Northern has enabled me to travel across the network to discover some of the most advanced technologies currently being developed – such as 5G testing with EE and laser machineries at Cambridge University. This time, I’m travelling to Sandy to see how these amazing developments are helping to connect rural communities all over the country.

Take a journey with me as I visit Blue Bear – a research facility that specialises in unmanned systems, such as 5G-enabled drones.

[...]

My next destination as a Line Resident for Great Northern is The Institute of Manufacturing at Cambridge University to discuss the future of technology, and how this will further transform our everyday lives in years to come.

Journey with me as I take the short trip from Kings Cross direct to Cambridge to meet Tim Minshall, Professor of Innovation & Head of the Institute for Manufacturing, Thomas Bohné, Senior Research Associate and PhD student Nadeem Gabbani. Together, we discuss how simple technologies are transforming millions of lives a day, how VR is being utilised to safely train staff in some of the most dangerous jobs, and how the latest lasers are being developed to build the cities of the future.

[...]

As a Line Resident for Great Northern, I’ve been lucky enough to have taken some great trips across the network, allowing me to catch-up on some news relating to what’s going on in the world of technology. I discovered that Google recently made a big announcement: they are entering the gaming arena, traditionally dominated by Microsoft and Sony, with a product called Stadia.

Google believe that by storing games on massive, supercooled remote servers instead of on consoles in living rooms, the scope for playing more resource-intensive games is increased manifold. While this is great on paper, as Google has the resource to do this, what they do not have currently is the ability to provide a network to support it – such as 5G.

[...]

I met with Marcia Watson, a mental health first aider from Great Northern, and Natasha Devon, a crusader for all things mental health and body positivity, to discuss the importance of employee mental health in a digital age.

Follow me as I travel from the iconic Kings Cross with Marcia to find out how Great Northern is working toward creating a better understanding of mental health and helping to transform lives within the workplace. I then journey on to Stevenage, meeting Natasha to discover how key campaigners like herself are helping to create more awareness around the importance of mental health nationwide.

[...]

Confession Time! I’m a tech-head. I fully believe technology has the potential to make everything that little bit better. By this, I mean smoother, easier, a little more plain sailing. So when, through my work with Great Northern as one of their Line Residents, I was told about their investment in technology startups as part of the Billion Journey Project, I was intrigued.

The BJP, a Go-Ahead Group initiative (which Great Northern’s parent company, Govia Thameslink Railway, is part of), looks externally for solutions to prominent travel issues and has a funding accelerator to invest in ones with real potential to transform customers’ journeys. One of the latest investments is in a company called AirPortr – which has the aim of taking the strain out of one of life’s most stressful journeys - getting to and through the airport.

[...]

Ortis Deley of The Gadget Show meets with John Tomlin and Tim Wells from Great Northern to discover how the rail operator is using technology to transform customer journeys. Find out how innovative new train simulator technology and best-in-class training is benefiting the roles of thousands of train drivers and ultimately providing a better service for customers.

[...]