ADLINK and NVIDIA Lay Tracks for Railway AI
- By CDOTrends editors
- November 23, 2021
Taiwanese computing device maker ADLINK Technology is teaming up with AI platform specialist NVIDIA to launch new AI-based applications to the railway industry.
ADLINK, which is also active in the autonomous car space, has launched its railway AI-enabled platform on the NVIDIA Jetson AGX Xavier industrial module.
The company said it continued to deepen its “Elite” partnership with NVIDIA and could now offer rail solution providers the flexibility to select the most optimal configuration for their digital transformation.
Target railway applications include railroad intrusion detection, train station video surveillance, onboard passenger security, and railroad hazard detection.
"AI is accelerating the digital transformation of the railway industry to improve operational efficiency, deliver smarter and safer customer services, and create new business opportunities,” said Eric Kao, general manager of ADLINK's networking, communication & public sector business unit.
When integrated with an advanced camera system, radar, Lidar, GNSSC, and an AI software stack, the AVA-RAGX system can provide precise information about the train's surroundings and exact position.
The AVA RAGX can detect emerging hazards far ahead to increase warning time when connected to appropriate sensors. Also, the hazard detection system can improve operational efficiency and safety and help prevent accidents, especially when trains run at night or in adverse weather conditions that reduce visibility.
When installed on an inspection train, the trackside equipment fault detection system processes images captured from wayside equipment, such as the pantograph and track, in real-time. Driven by NVIDIA's GPU accelerated computing, the system can effectively identify potential equipment faults at a train speed of up to 75mph (120km/h).
Incorporating AI-at-the-edge into onboard legacy CCTV networks enhances passenger travel conditions. Instead of relying on CCTV playback footage, the AVA-RAGX can perform real-time monitoring.
Applications include checking for unattended luggage, seat occupancy, and passenger counting. When deployed in train station surveillance systems, the AVA-RAGX can analyze the real-time video stream received from station platforms to detect suspicious or aggressive human behaviors, crowd movement, and even face mask-wearing.
ADLINK recently scored a first in the autonomous car sector. It is the official edge computing sponsor of the Cisco-sponsored Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) competition at the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
With a USD1 million prize, the IAC challenged universities to program the Indy Dallara racecars at a competition in late October.
The primary goal of the IAC is to advance technology that can speed the commercialization of fully autonomous vehicles and deployments of advanced driver assistance systems.
ADLINK also recently joined with ecosystem partners Askey Computer Corp and Excellence Opto to develop solutions for connected cars and autonomous driving, and smart traffic lights and signal controllers.
The solutions connect vehicles, pedestrians, roadway infrastructure, and a network.
ADLINK is experiencing rapid growth and says it expects revenues of USD1 billion by 2025, with momentum from the mounting penetration of edge computing and 5G and AI applications.
Image credit: iStockphoto/cherezoff