Intelligent Train Cars

    Introduction

    Rail transport, one of the longest-standing forms of conveyance man has relied on to carry them from one location to another; is still a prominent mode of land transportation despite its centuries of vintage. From horses (wagons) to steam engines, and steam engines to diesel or electric engines, rail transport operators of the 21st century, just like generations before them, carried the torch of introducing the latest and greatest technological offerings to their operations so that the technological reservoir of the era can be harnessed to bring maximum benefits.

    With the bloom of information technology, Europe, home to one of the world’s most extensive railway networks and technologically advanced train fleets, endeavors to innovate its existing railway infrastructures with radical new technology, yielding much acclaim and success. As technologies such as wifi, infotainment systems are shifting from being mere commodities to modern-era necessities, the premise of having informative and intuitive cabins can only be realized with hardware that are highly dependable, stable, rugged and user-friendly; characteristics that are cornerstones for AAEON’s fanless BOXER PCs.

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    AAEON’s Solution

    AEV-6356/6357VS Railway Boxer PCs

    The EN50155Tx compliant PCs are primarily chosen for their media playing, monitoring, communication and video surveillence capabilities. They support the encoding/decoding of captured footage and simultaneous playback of video content on 8 displays for any infotainment or advertising requirements, helps the train crew in monitoring different operating parameters of the train such as temperature of the cabins and door statuses for safety, keeps an eye on and records the conditions of all cabins using cameras for smooth and secure train operations, provides the train with onboard wifi while serving as a gateway between the onboard wifi and the external network to offer continuous network connectivity for its passengers.

    Other functions favorable to railway operators are the PCs’ ability for hot-plugging and hot-swapping Hard Disk Drives (HDDs). Should there be a need to remove the HDD while the system is still running, software installed in the HDD will initiate a signal to halt all the disk’s operations and, thanks to RAID1, 5 10 technology, back up all its stored data to other HDDs so that the targeted drive can be removed safely without corrupting its contents. All data will be restored back to the former drive once it is installed back into the system.

    Acknowledging problems arising from complex wiring, the PCs and its assortment of devices are all linked with the connections that strictly conform to TCP/IP protocols for “cleaner” connection routes and minimizing any instability issues. The use of the TCP/IP protocol also allows for the deployment of AAEON’s remote display technology, which allows configurations intended for multiple devices of a single type installed in various parts of the train to be changed universally by adjusting solely at the PC (controller) end (eg adjusting monitors installed in all passenger cabins to uniform brightness), and help in sending the decoded video signals concurrently to any connected displays, thereby making the abovementioned simultaneous playback of video possible.

    Conclusion

    Technology revolutionizes how we travel. In the age of information where people rely tremendously on the internet for information and communication, commuters, in addition to the age-old demand for speed and comfort, need to stay connected wherever and whenever to maintain their online presence for, among other things, socializing as well as instant information retrieval and sharing. With AAEON’s full range of technological offerings, any transport operators is covered in providing commuters convenience through functionality and connectivity.