Companies named as winners of government funding under the ‘Accelerating Innovation in Rail’ programme for project to deliver mesh Wi-Fi, Passenger Content Network and Staff Applications
Bath, UK – 21st February 2018 – Virtuosys, the company delivering business-ready solutions at the network edge, and Angel Trains, one of Britain’s leading train leasing companies, today announced that they have been selected by the UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) to receive grant funding to demonstrate an Edge Computing solution for use on board trains. The joint project, First of a Kind: Demonstrating Tomorrow’s Trains Today, will utilize the Virtuosys Edge Application Platform to deliver a wide variety of applications for train operators and passengers.
The solution combines the installation of a number of Virtuosys Edge Servers to create a mesh network together with local storage and processing. The system will be designed and certified for deployment on a UK rail passenger vehicle, with an initial preloaded set of applications, targeted at the rail industry. It will be able to operate with an intermittent backhaul connection to the internet, and applications will be able to provide useful functions during travel, even without internet access. Virtuosys will use open interfaces to encourage application development by third parties and the fostering of a wider ecosystem to build upon this foundation of connectivity.
“Rail passengers increasingly expect access to quality and reliable connectivity when travelling, while at the same time Internet of Things technology can offer a wide range of exciting new tools for train staff. However to date, poor wireless coverage for train lines has stifled innovation and created a communications bottleneck,” said Alan E Jones, CEO of Virtuosys. “Virtuosys’ solution allows train operators to deploy just a few devices per carriage which will create a self-managing network, sharing all storage and compute processing power. This will provide improved wireless coverage and a platform for a wide range of exciting services to improve the passenger experience and make life easier and safer on-board for train staff.”
The Virtuosys Edge Application Platform can be deployed in any environment – from industrial Internet of Things, to Smart Cities, to retail. It also delivers a wide range of application services, from payment processing, to employee messaging. In every situation, the Virtuosys Platform can give customers a competitive edge in things that matter: performance, security, resilience and cost.
Virtuosys will be demonstrating a range of vertical market applications, including Smart Transportation, running on the platform at Mobile World Congress 2018, in Hall 8.0 booth F31.