Hitachi Rail announced it is adopting the NVIDIA IGX Thor platform to provide real-time AI processing, the first transport company in the world to do so.
The IGX Thor platform offers up to eight times higher computing speeds and two times better connectivity, NVIDIA said, which allows for real-time sensor processing, AI reasoning, functional safety and long-term enterprise support. The initiative with NVIDIA fits with Hitachi Group’s AI strategy, the company said. The move will allow Hitachi Rail to use the AI processing for operating and optimizing the performance of its trains, signaling and infrastructure.
“AI and data are transforming railways,” Giuseppe Marino, Group CEO of Hitachi Rail, said. “By adopting NVIDIA IGX Thor, we are bringing the world’s most powerful industrial-grade, real-time AI performance directly to the edge, enabling operators to better optimize their railways and infrastructure. This capability will strengthen reliability, efficiency and optimization for passengers and operators alike.”
The companies said that the integration of NVIDIA IGX Thor into Hitachi Rail’s HMAX platform will allow for powerful real-time processing of large volumes of data on the trains or on infrastructure that could take up to 10 days to be processed in the rail company’s current maintenance locations. By using AI-base algorithms, the HMAX platform would ensure that only relevant information is sent back to the operational control centers, improving the rail company’s ability to improve the speed that actionable insights can be shared with transport operators, while enhancing the potential for optimization and maintenance.