Xembedded News
Monitoring the Railway with Technology and Keeping Both Running
March, 2010
DANA EARL, SALIENT SYSTEMS AND RUSS NIEVES, XEMBEDDED
Sophisticated sensors in remote areas combined with rugged, specialized processor modules, software and communication systems work together to keep trains on the rails, saving billions of dollars. In addition to protecting such systems from the weather, protecting them from end-of-life is vital to transportation systems.
ARTICLE EXCERPT
In the railroad industry, management by prevention is imperative. Faulty track and equipment causes half of all train derailments. The resulting cost to the global rail industry in materials alone exceeds billions of dollars, not including costs for personal injury, hazardous material clean up, litigation and lost productivity. Real-time monitoring of the health of rails and the performance of trains helps to lower the risk of catastrophic derailments and promotes timely, cost-effective preventative maintenance. The most dangerous defects in rail infrastructures are the ones that are invisible to the human eye. intellitrack solutions by Salient Systems, Inc., integrates advanced failure detection technologies with sophisticated decision-making software tools to help detect these defects with a range of monitoring systems including Wheel Impact Load Detectors (WILD), Hunting Truck Detectors (HTD), Weigh-in Motion (WIM) and Truck Performance Detectors (TPD).
Salient Systems
Dublin, OH
(614) 792-5800
www.salientsystems.com
Xembedded
Ann Arbor, MI
(734) 975-0577
www.xembedded.com