Nexxiot Launches Vector: New Sensor Delivers Precision Control for Rail Safety and Asset Intelligence

BTOB IOT & AI IN MOBILITY

Nexxiot Launches Vector: New Sensor Delivers Precision Control for Rail Safety and Asset Intelligence

Over the past few years, the rail sector has made huge strides forward. Digitalization is transforming operations and delivering a new standard of accountability and trust. Big Data generated through the deployment of sensors and delivered via mobile connectivity are opening new opportunities in safety, maintenance, and cargo owner services.

Dan MacGregor, Nexxiot Co-Founder explores these opportunities and explains how the newly released Vector sensor, used to monitor brakes, hatches, and doors on railcars, is a game changer for the industry.

Real-Time Asset Intelligence

Nexxiot is currently digitalizing entire fleets of railcars, shipping containers and other transport assets, components, and subsystems - with zero-maintenance sensors and IoT gateways. The company has already equipped hundreds of thousands of railcars with its Globehopper IoT gateway. Through close collaboration with sector leaders, clients, and partners, Nexxiot co-creates technical innovations to solve long-standing industry problems. Now clients benefit from real-time asset intelligence across the entire cargo journey.

Rail is one of the most efficient inland transport modalities, creating between 5 and 7 times less Co2 per ton/mile than trucks do on the road. With heavy-duty components, lots of moving parts, a tough operating environment, and constant interactions with people and cargo, rail operations are exposed to lots of intrinsic risks. When problems occur, they can lead to breakdowns, accidents, delays, and damage to cargo, property, and the natural environment. Access to the right data and the best analytical tools gives clients and their partners the visibility they need to improve business processes and provide asset intelligence to partners, clients, and third-party service providers like workshops.

Recent high-profile events in the rail sector have raised questions about safety, maintenance lifecycles, operating practices, cost control, fleet deployment, and asset availability. Rail freight operators and lessors around the world are focused on maximizing asset utilization and component lifetimes, however, they are constantly under pressure to reduce costs but avoid compromising safety. Without real-time data from the parts of the asset that get worn or damaged, this task is extremely difficult to get right.

The Nexxiot Globehopper is an IoT gateway that gathers data from the railcar asset and sends it to the Nexxiot Connect Intelligent Cloud when the railcar is moving. The gateway includes onboard sensors, energy harvesting to sustain power levels, and it is certified to be intrinsically safe with ATEX and HazLoc certifications. The new Vector sensor connects wirelessly to the Globehopper, and from here the data is uploaded using mobile communications technologies for processing and process optimization.

How Does the Vector Sensor Work?

The design of Vector sensor creates optionality for clients to address multiple use cases with one versatile architecture. With a service life of more than 15 years, the device measures the status in real-time to provide data on hand brakes, access hatches, and train doors. It connects wirelessly to the Nexxiot Globehopper gateway using Bluetooth LE (BLE), and from here, the data is sent to the Nexxiot Connect Intelligent Cloud for processing and analysis. Clients can easily access data and enhance decision-making capabilities and responses.

What’s Possible with The Vector Sensor?

Whilst it’s great that we can already monitor the location and handling of a railcar as it travels on rail tracks, is maneuvered in marshalling yards, and as it enters a client’s industrial site, but there are many more opportunities to optimize operations with the right data at hand. Digitally progressive clients don’t want to have merely a diagnosis of what went wrong, but rather now expect practical, workable solutions to solve the specific problems they repeatedly face.

Safety and Maintenance

Scrutiny is increasing around safety, and now old manual checks are no longer enough. Recent incidents often resulted in a chain of blame and legal contests, which create uncertainty for cargo owners and reputational damage for operators. Add to this the fact that it’s now becoming ever harder to find, and train dedicated people to walk around rail freight car compositions.

Since the early days of rail, railroaders had to check handbrakes - which is potentially dangerous work, and the risk of relying on third parties is too great. The consequence of leaving a handbrake on before the railcar departs is that significant damage normally occurs. Flat spots on wheels, overheating bearings and axles, damaged track infrastructure, and possible derailments, which result in delays, and damaged cargo can also be expected. All these events can lead to safety issues and increased costs from maintenance, insurance, and legal bills. The Vector sensor is fitted to the handbrake so that the real-time status of the brake on / off is reported, with notifications and operational issues also enabled.

Compliance

As regulations tighten, clients demand ESG metrics, workers expect better tools and conditions, and cargo owners require improved reliability and precision, the demand for data-driven services is increasing. Nexxiot is well known for its approach to building innovative, intrinsically safe hardware. This attention to quality and security from a technical point of view means that Nexxiot clients can rely on the hardware to deliver the data, improve operations, and demonstrate next-level service for their own clients.

Security

Rail operators and their cargo-owning clients need better security. Limited transparency on a railcar’s door status leads to issues like the possibility of cargo theft and tampering. The provenance of cargo such as food, commodities, or chemicals is highly sensitive. As rail cars enter higher-risk locations, the concern that cargo integrity, quality, safety, and security are negatively impacted rises. The Vector sensor reports on the door and hatch opening events so security measures can be targeted according to risks, partner behavior can be monitored, and cargo owners can be reassured using real empirical data.

Summary

Enhanced intelligence using high-quality data makes it possible to prescribe recommended actions, make remote safety checks, and ensure cargo has not been tampered with, damaged, or stolen. Both rail operators and cargo owners benefit from this innovation. With increased global attention on safety, compliance, and resource security, the Vector sensor offers multiple stakeholders the opportunity to monitor essential processes. They can now demonstrate to their clients and partners that they take maximum care when it comes to safety and cargo quality.