Interesting rail innovations

[cnw1995]

Numbers 5 and 6 on InfoWorld's top 100 best IT projects of the year....
1) BP deploying a sensor system on its haz-chem tank cars that track payload temp, how full the car is, ambient temp and any horizontal and vert. 'events' - this sensor is hardwired into a computer on the car which has a satellite transmitter - BP uses the sys to also increase the number of 'turns' per car to keep it busy. (Cost $1.1 m)
2)BNSF deploying voice recognition software that allows conductors to call in train arrivals, departures, pickups and setups - instead of filing paper reports. The system converts the voice to real-time data. The system sorts out background noise, converts speech to text, and uses existing radio networks (cost $2.8 m)

[jchnhtfd]

Your number 2 is one example of why BNSF is a pretty go-ahead kind of operation.

[railman]

BNSF always seems to be ahead of the curve on things like that.

[mvlandsw]

QUOTE: Originally posted by cnw1995

Numbers 5 and 6 on InfoWorld's top 100 best IT projects of the year....
1) BP deploying a sensor system on its haz-chem tank cars that track payload temp, how full the car is, ambient temp and any horizontal and vert. 'events' - this sensor is hardwired into a computer on the car which has a satellite transmitter - BP uses the sys to also increase the number of 'turns' per car to keep it busy. (Cost $1.1 m)
2)BNSF deploying voice recognition software that allows conductors to call in train arrivals, departures, pickups and setups - instead of filing paper reports. The system converts the voice to real-time data. The system sorts out background noise, converts speech to text, and uses existing radio networks (cost $2.8 m)

1) I have seen some of these that look like they could be a terrorist bomb. A small box on top of a tank car with wires running down the side. There was a bulletin out requesting that they not be reported as bombs. 2)CSX is using a voice recognition system to process seniority moves. If you cough or clear your throat it hangs up. It keeps trying to assign me to a district that I have never heard of.

[daveklepper]

CSX ought to pay BNSF a consulting fee. But so should the other four.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by daveklepper

CSX ought to pay BNSF a consulting fee. But so should the other four.

A significant number of the late 80's CSX techies moved on to the BN after the initial CSX computer application was completed about 1992. Those individuals formed some of the leadership for BN's computer applications development.

[Overmod]

mvlandsw, you have no e-mail address so I have to put this on the forum.

Do you have contact info for anyone at CSX responsible for programming this voice-activated system? Stan Franklin et al. at the University of Memphis have developed a "detailer" system for the Navy (IDA) that does this sort of thing quite well... and should be immune to either of the problems you mention. If you have contacts, e-mail me.