Railroad Technology & Cloud Service for DB Netz AG
Integration of the Seddin North-South marshalling yard into EquipmentCloud®
Kontron AIS has successfully integrated the train formation yard Seddin North-South into the digital transformation solution EquipmentCloud®. In addition to alarms from shunting equipment, process values and load statistics of the rail brakes, the EquipmentCloud® is also deployed to execute and document maintenance.
“With the EquipmentCloud® we are now in the position to monitor our equipment quickly and easily and make systems more comparable. It also offers initial starting points for AI.” Daniel Mairing, DB Netz AG, District manager control and safety engineering, Seddin
Challenge
- Collect data from all sensors for analyzing
- Electronic documentation and performance of maintenance
- Prediction of deadlines, achievement of thresholds as well as the detection of trends
Solution
- Integration of the systems and components
- Evaluation of the data via EquipmentCloud®
- Installation and integration IoT gateway into existing infrastructure
Result
- Documentation and execution of maintenance
- Evaluations are available to authorized maintenance staff and employees worldwide
- Comparability of systems
- Data basis for artificial intelligence (AI) approaches
The integration of the train formation yard Seddin North-South into the EquipmentCloud® is done via an IoT gateway. The Linux-based gateway serves as a link between the brake control database and the REST interface of the EquipmentCloud®. This linking is realized via the graphical visualization tool Node-Red. Using Node-Red, various protocols can already be read via the available physical interfaces and processed with minimum programming knowledge. Thus, it is also possible for the end customer to make changes or extensions to the system independently. The end customer is freed from the linking to the EquipmentCloud® thanks to Node-Red, developed by Kontron AIS.
The node handles all authentication and buffering of data in case of temporary loss of Internet connection. The collected data can now be used to compare systems or parts of systems, to generate load statistics and to document alarm frequencies for rail track and system boundaries. The integrated maintenance module is used for realization and documentation and guides the user and maintainer through the maintenance process by using multiple checklists. A constant access to the relevant documents and maintenance instructions from DB Netz or the respective manufacturer is ensured at any times. Due to the responsive view, the checklists can easily be processed on any smartphone or tablet directly at the system.
The common goal of the cooperation is to integrate further equipment and the department of marshalling yards and train formation facilities. The secure data transfer is implemented via the IoT gateway of Kontron AIS. The foundation for further integrations is now in place. Especially the department for shunting technology in Munich of the DB Netz AG is aiming to push the integration of additional systems as soon as possible.
