Battery-free sensors provide real time sensing on rail carriages

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Battery-free sensors have been developed by Glasgow University spinout RX Watt Ltd to improve preventative maintenance and condition monitoring on rail carriages.

The global Rail Asset Management market, which includes condition monitoring for railway carriages, was valued at $10.1bn in 2021 and is projected to reach $13.2bn by 2026
The global Rail Asset Management market, which includes condition monitoring for railway carriages, was valued at $10.1bn in 2021 and is projected to reach $13.2bn by 2026 - AdobeStock

The sensors aim to prevent costly equipment failures in industries which depend on monitoring products and goods in real-time.

The new sensors receive power wirelessly from radio waves, directly providing energy to small electronics that collect data including temperature and vibration, which is then sent to the user via a Bluetooth interface.

The sensors are designed to be retrofitted to existing rolling stock carriages and could reduce the cost and environmental footprint of wiring in modern trains.

The effectiveness of the sensors was validated at the BCIMO Very Light Rail Innovation Centre, where the feasibility of safely sending power using microwaves to the sensors was demonstrated using the centre’s test vehicles, including a passenger rail carriage and a T69 tram.

The development of the sensors is supported by the Contracts for Innovation: International Rail Innovation Challenges programme, funded jointly by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and delivered by Innovate UK.

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In a statement, Dr Mahmoud Wagih, founder of RX Watt and lecturer at Glasgow’s James Watt School of Engineering, said: "Monitoring air quality, occupancy, and wear and tear are crucial to sustainable and resilient transport.

“Current vehicular sensors require extensive wiring or batteries that need regular replacement. With radio-frequency power delivery, we can directly power the sensors without the need for energy storage or harvesting energy from their environment.

“Continuously monitoring strain, vibrations, and temperature can reduce maintenance, downtime, and also emissions from trains. This is only possible through antennas and circuits which can operate in such varied environment.”

The research was supported by the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Office of the Chief Science Adviser for National Security under the UK IC Research Fellowship programme, and through the EPSRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA).

 

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