AI bus shelter screen warns of knife crime

The sound of an ambulance siren will trigger the messages to appear on the screen

A new digital screen at a bus shelter has been built to raise awareness of the dangers of knife crime.

Powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI), the screen has been constructed on Castle Lane West, close to Royal Bournemouth Hospital in Dorset.

Whenever an ambulance passes by the screen, its siren will prompt heartfelt text messages to be displayed.

These genuine conversations reflect the panicked concerns of parents and the consequences of knife crime.

The project began in 2023 when an innovative machine-learning system was developed, which could detect what an ambulance siren sounds like.

First launched in London, the scheme is in partnership with the Ben Kinsella Trust.

The charity educates people on the impacts of knife crime, following the murder of Ben Kinsella, who was stabbed in London in 2008 aged 16.

Kieron Wilson, who is in charge of Housing and Regulatory Services at Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) council, said he hoped it would help young people to understand the devastating consequences of knife crime.

“Whilst Dorset remains a safe place to live with one of the lowest knife crime rates in the UK, we all must remain fully committed to ending knife crime entirely across our three towns," he added.