New technology can help local governments better understand bridge conditions, decide where to charge electric vehicles on the road, and even use robots for small maintenance tasks.
These improvements and more are part of the latest “proof of concept” phase of the 6th Annual Transit Tech Lab Competition, sponsored by the four transit agencies serving the New York City metropolitan area. The Transit Tech Lab was created by the New York City Partnership to partner with early-stage companies and transit agencies to align technology with transit needs.
These projects juggle the whims between the practical day-to-day needs of operating transit in the nation’s busiest metros and emerging technologies such as lidar, robots, IoT sensors, and many other peripheral support roles. can be considered a mashup. cloud computing or artificial intelligence.
“One of the key benefits of the lab is to help New York City transit agencies understand how new technology can solve their own pressing challenges,” said New York City Partnership Senior Vice President of Innovation. President Stacey Matlen said in an email. “Technologies suitable for deployment in these large government agencies are proven in other environments and sectors and can often be applied in new ways in the transportation environment.”
Overall, 18 companies moved into the “proof of concept” stage of their projects earlier this year. These were selected from a list of 150 submissions. And in May, the companies began working with transportation partners to identify problems to solve and technology solutions to develop.
The companies include Irmos Technologies, which installed nine vibration sensors at key locations on three bridges operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Officials say the sensor can be installed within 30 minutes and provides information about structural integrity and maintenance recommendations.
Panagiotis Martakis, founder and CEO of Irmos Technologies, said in an email: “Our successful proof of concept with the Port Authority demonstrated the ease of use and practical value of our solution in maintenance prioritization.”
The technology uses advanced AI-based algorithms to convert bridge vibrations into “indicators of structural health.” Amos will soon begin a year-long trial with the Port Authority to monitor other bridges.
Another project is connected to the most basic urban furniture: street lights.
Voltpost, in collaboration with the New Jersey Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, has identified three potential locations for its technology to retrofit streetlights with vehicle charging infrastructure.
“If you can put outlets everywhere, people won’t have to worry about range anxiety. That’s going to drive the next big wave of adoption,” said Luke Milo, co-founder and chief operating officer of Boltpost. said at the EV charging panel. In July. The event was hosted by Veloz, an EV policy and advocacy organization based in Sacramento, California.
Another project employed handheld robots for trackside maintenance at subway stations. The technology is provided by FLX Solutions, whose FLX BOT eliminates the need to deploy ladders and other equipment to handle small maintenance tasks. Such events can cause train delays and other operational disruptions.
One can imagine that the development of the proof-of-concept application is the beginning of a new partnership between the technology company and various transit operators in the New York City subway.
“Companies that require additional testing will proceed with a year-long pilot,” Matlen said. “These companies used the proof-of-concept period to develop a scope of pilot projects with strong goals and (key performance indicators) to help prove their technology in a one-year pilot. ”
Skip Descant writes about smart cities, the Internet of Things, transportation, and other areas. He was a reporter for more than 12 years for daily newspapers in Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and California. He lives in downtown Yreka, California.
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