Our Innovation Analysts recently looked into emerging technologies and up-and-coming startups working on innovative solutions for the railroad sector. As there is a large number of startups working on a wide variety of solutions, we want to share our insights with you. This time, you will discover 5 promising rail monitoring startups.
Heat Map: 5 Top Rail Monitoring Solutions
Using our StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, covering 1.379.000+ startups & scaleups globally, we looked at innovation in the field of Rail Tech. For this research, we identified 358 relevant solutions and picked 5 to showcase below. These companies were chosen based on a data-driven startup scouting approach, taking into account factors such as location, founding year, and relevance of technology, among others. Depending on your specific criteria, the top picks might look entirely different.
The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights 5 startups & scaleups developing rail monitoring solutions. Moreover, the Heat Map reveals regions that observe a high startup activity and illustrates the geographic distribution of all 358 companies we analyzed for this specific topic.
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HUM Industrial Technology – Predictive Monitoring & Fleet Tracking
Identification of wear and tear is crucial in any industry involving big machinery. In the railroad industry, in particular, failure of a single bearing leads to accidents that are preventable. Predictive monitoring solutions allow rail companies to remain a step ahead of the problem. Rail monitoring solutions increase the security of rail and also significantly cut costs arising from unexpected repairs.
The US-based startup HUM Industrial Technology offers predictive monitoring solutions to railroad shippers and railcar owners. The startup uses wireless Internet of Things (IoT) sensors for automated safety monitoring and prediction of wheel and bearing failure, as well as detection of oil or gas leakages. Moreover, the startup provides a live global positioning system (GPS) tracking solution that offers a comprehensive overview of fleet location and history. The startup helps rail operators reduce maintenance costs by enabling early detection of potential failures.
LIMMAT – Big Data & Analytics for Railways
Digitalization and the resulting utilization of big data pave the way for train communication and predictive analytics in the railway industry. By deploying smart railway sensors, millions of data points are gathered and analyzed to improve the safety, security, and reliability of railcars. The ability to predict failures further allows rail operators to plan repairs, thereby increasing the availability of rail. Startups are developing IoT sensors for almost every element of rail infrastructure, including railcars, tracks, and signaling units.
Spanish startup LIMMAT provides smart rail infrastructure solutions during the construction and operation stages. The startup offers its IMAS+ platform for predictive maintenance and condition-based maintenance (CBM). The platform combines IoT, big data, and machine learning (ML) to help railroad operators improve maintenance management and rail-fleet control. IMAS+ also helps reduce maintenance costs and increase fleet effectiveness and availability.
Visight Technology – Railways Security
A core concept of passenger rail is to safely deliver passengers from point to point. For that purpose, the industry continues to develop and adopt smart security systems to identify external risks and threats. For example, the luggage checking machinery helps with eliminating risks that arise from illegal activities such as trafficking. Modern improvements to such monitoring systems make transporting illegal objects and substances considerably more difficult.
Chinese startup Visight Technology offers security image recognition solutions to enhance the functionality of luggage scanning machines in rail transit. The startup provides a screenshot algorithm for smart identification of contraband. The algorithm is built using artificial intelligence (AI) combined with a large amount of security image data. Leveraging AI and image data, the startup provides services to rail transit operators to make rail security monitoring processes more efficient.
Planys Technologies – Underwater Bridge Inspection
Nowadays, even in remote areas, rail inspection can be carried out at lower costs using drones. However, the process becomes complicated when it comes to the underwater inspection of rail bridges. Since bridges are an important railways infrastructure element, emerging solutions aim to enable regular and thorough inspection. Therefore, startups develop underwater inspection solutions that allow rail operators to effectively manage critical rail infrastructure.
Indian startup Planys offers underwater robotics inspection solutions for several industries, including railroads. The startup uses a fleet of remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) that perform functions such as laser measurement, biofouling cleaning, and thickness gouging. The startup provides a cost-effective and time-saving solution to inspect the status of railroad structures underwater.
TRAINFO – Railroad Crossing Monitoring
Rail and road intersections often experience traffic delays, which affects the drivers in addition to hindering urban planning. Traffic delays at the railroad crossing, however, are avoidable with the effective use of IoT technologies. To this end, emerging rail startups provide smart devices and sensors to improve traffic congestion and safety at railway crossings.
Canadian startup TRAINFO provides a cost-effective solution to reduce traffic delays at railroad crossings. The startup uses train sensors, Bluetooth, and prediction software to determine when to open and close rail crossings. This information is then conveyed through information systems, such as roadside signage, mobile apps, or traffic signal integration, to drivers. This solution also aids city planning officials when designing and operating railway crossings and other infrastructure.
What About The Other 353 Solutions?
While we believe data is key to creating insights it can be easy to be overwhelmed by it. Our ambition is to create a comprehensive overview and provide actionable innovation intelligence and enable you to achieve your goals faster. The 5 rail monitoring startups showcased above are promising examples out of 358 we analyzed for this article. To identify the most relevant solutions based on your specific criteria, get in touch.
