CN turns to Duos Technologies for inspections

Written by Railway Age Staff
Rail Inspection Portal

Duos Technologies Rail Inspection Portal

Machine vision technology will help CN keep an eye on its network of steel machinery.

Duos Technologies Group, a provider of intelligent security analytical technology solutions, has been awarded a multi-million-dollar contract from CN, the Montreal-based Class I carrier.

The award includes four complete rail inspection portals and deployment of Duos’ first commercial thermal undercarriage inspection system, which was recently beta-tested at the AAR rail testing facility in Pueblo, Colo.

The systems will be based on Duos’ Railcar Inspection Portal technology, which combines several proprietary intelligent technologies and sub-systems. Duos will also participate in an upcoming Phase 2 bid, which is expected to expand the projects to add analytical algorithms to process and evaluate rail cars for potential mechanical defects.

The systems will be installed at four main-line locations around the Winnipeg, Manitoba area and are designed to operate at extreme cold temperatures and at train speeds of up to 70 mph.

“CN is making significant investments in infrastructure and technology, including in Machine Vision and predictive analytics capabilities, to increase the safety, fluidity and efficiency of our railway,” said Scott Daniels, Senior Vice-President, Strategy & Innovation at CN. “The Duos technology is the latest example of how we are innovating with our partners to implement new measures that can better target preventative maintenance, improve reliability, reduce dwell and improve the overall performance of our operations.”

“Our Railcar Inspection Portal system substantially improves effectiveness of not only railcar inspections through high resolution 360-degree imaging of the railcar, but also incorporates critical security features,” said Noel Heiks, President and Chief Operating Officer of the company’s wholly-owned operating subsidiary Duos Technologies, Inc. “Monitoring and maintaining the structural health of railcars and its environment is important to ensure secure, safe and efficient railroad operation and is a paramount focus of today’s global rail industry.”

Duos Chief Executive Gianni Arcaini said his company expects to deploy additional systems in the near future throughout CN’s network.

“Our library of automated inspection strategies is rapidly expanding and represents a major growth path for our company in this application space. This advanced technology is a complete solution for transportation applications, which is expanding to also cover transit rail and related infrastructure.”

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