Using Drones to Inspect Railway Systems and Railway Tracks
In 1973, Bihrle Applied Research Inc. was founded as an aeronautical research and development firm. Over the years the company, based out of Virginia, became leaders in “areas of wind tunnel testing, flight dynamics, scale aircraft prototype development, Sense and Avoid technologies, aircraft mathematical modeling & simulation, and specialized software development for the commercial and military UAS communities,” as detailed on the company website. Bihrle played a critical part in the FAA’s Pathfinder program that was focused on how drones can be used BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line Of Sight).
As work on the Pathfinder Project progressed, Bihrle noticed an industry gap in drone inspection practices. In 2017, they opened the subsidiary Ardenna Inc. to fill this gap. Specifically, Ardenna develops drones and AI processing systems for the inspections of railway systems. On March 21, 2022, it was announced that Ondas Holdings was entering an agreement to acquire Ardenna for an undisclosed sum. The California based company, that specializes in wireless networking, had previously acquired American Robotics Inc. for $70.6M. Since 2016, American Robotics (AR), based out of Massachusetts, has been developing commercial AI enabled drones.
By acquiring and merging the 2 companies, Onadas is hoping to change the way railways in the United States are inspected and maintained. Between freight and passenger railways, there are nearly 200,000 miles of tracks crossing the United States. The $80B industry employs more than 167,000 people and is considered the most successful freight industry in the world. A lot has changed since the Quincy, MA Granite Railway, the first US railway, opened in 1826. Today, the future of railways in the US and abroad will depend on the implementation of drone automation.
For the freight industry to remain profitable, it has to remain safe and functional. Every foot of the rail track needs to be regularly inspected for safety. It is not only tracks that need inspections but entire rail stations as well. This uses up hundreds of hours of work that is often not fully accurate. Drone technology provides the perfect solution for railway inspections. In a fraction of the time, a drone can be used to inspect every inch of a railway system. The collected data is uploaded to an AI system that recognizes any faults. The data is stored and used for comparison to repeat drone scans, creating a digital imprint of the overall condition of a railway system. Not only can drones inspect in record time, but they do so cost efficiently without jeopardizing any job stability. In fact, drone inspections increase job opportunities.
The Ondas acquisition and merger of Ardenna and American Robotics is a step in the right direction for the rail and freight industry in the US. “The pieces that are needed to create an industrial data solution for analyzing rail infrastructure are coming together,” said Eric Brock, Chairman, and CEO of Ondas. “We believe the acquisition of Ardenna will provide the rail industry with a solution that combines drones, automation, communications, AI, and industry-specific expertise to significantly enhance operations and safety.”
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