In partnership with various rail industry stakeholders, Transmission Dynamics has spearheaded the ‘Trains with Brains’ remote condition monitoring system as part of the Innovate UK ‘First of a Kind’ 2022 competition, marking a significant leap in revolutionising rail asset maintenance, infrastructure efficiency, and environmental impact reduction in the UK.
‘First of a Kind’ (FOAK) project develops new technology to revolutionise the monitoring, measurement and maintenance of rail assets and infrastructure.
Transmission Dynamics, experts in industrial technology, have forged partnerships with rail asset proprietors and operators to develop a cutting-edge remote condition monitoring system, poised to significantly enhance the identification and resolution of maintenance and operational challenges throughout the UK rail network.
Within the rail network, a spectrum of faults and inefficiencies may manifest, encompassing issues such as overhanging wire impediments, track performance irregularities, and defects within the train assets themselves. The industry bears a substantial financial burden, with overhead wire repairs alone amounting to approximately £1.5 million, not to mention the costs and time delays incurred by other faults. Consequently, addressing these issues has emerged as an imperative concern for the sector.
Presently, the technology available facilitates the individual monitoring and display of faults. However, it lacks the capability to amalgamate these isolated observations to effectively pinpoint the root cause of problems, thereby inhibiting the formulation of the most efficient and timely maintenance strategies.
About Innovate UK, and the FOAK 2022 Initiative
The project forms part of the FOAK demonstrator initiative, which seeks to expedite innovation within the UK rail sector and facilitate the seamless integration of new technologies into the railway system. This project received approval within the ‘cost efficiency and performance priorities for a reliable railway’ funding theme.
The FOAK initiative is designed to bolster innovative solutions with high technology readiness levels as they progress toward market readiness, ultimately delivering scalable rail solutions that culminate in deployment and real-world demonstrations.
Funded by the Department for Transport (DfT) and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK, the FOAK 2022 initiative allocated over £6 million to 24 projects spanning the United Kingdom, helping to deliver demonstrations and feasibility studies to tackle key challenges within the sector.
View the full article here: https://www.ukri.org/who-we-are/how-we-are-doing/research-outcomes-and-impact/innovate-uk/the-future-of-remote-monitoring-for-the-rail-industry/