Artificial intelligence: discover the next dimension of mobility
Rail is critical infrastructure. Keeping it on track with modern developments is a daunting task. Siemens Mobility draws on years of experience with industrial AI to help make rail safer and better. Learn how we are raising rail mobility to the next level with AI – today and tomorrow.
Rail is critical infrastructure. Keeping it on track with modern developments is a daunting task. Siemens Mobility draws on years of experience with industrial AI to help make rail safer and better. Learn how we are raising rail mobility to the next level with AI – today and tomorrow.
Why the mobility sector needs AI
As transport demand continues to rise, rail has a unique opportunity to become the backbone of sustainable mobility. To meet future expectations for capacity, reliability and passenger experience, the industry must move beyond traditional infrastructure expansion. AI will help lead the way – providing the intelligence needed to transform rail into a more adaptive, connected and efficient system.
AI with purpose
Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing today’s mobility landscape. Based on high-quality data and meaningful integration into existing ecosystems, AI serves as a powerful enabler for the increased use of rail. AI boosts productivity, simplifies technology use, promotes IT/OT convergence and increases automation, while advancing sustainability.
Our AI is industrial-grade
Unlike consumer AI, industrial AI prioritizes real-world performance in high-stakes settings. Designed to support critical infrastructure, our industrial AI solutions are reliable, safe and trustworthy, building on decades of domain-know-how in the mobility sector. From predictive maintenance to safer operations, the industrial AI we employ today is an underlying, integrated technology. In the future, new stand-alone AI solutions will eventually emerge.
How we apply trustworthy and safe AI today
As a leading manufacturer and technology solutions provider for the rail industry, we at Siemens Mobility have been developing sector-specific AI long before it became a buzzword.
Initially, our focus was on applications related to service and maintenance, such as condition monitoring and preventive maintenance of trains and rail infrastructure assets, where data, collected from field sensors, are analyzed for failure patterns or anomalies. Other early applications involved AI-enhanced assistance with our internal processes, such as tender, finance or engineering processes.
In all cases where the safety of human beings is involved, we currently only apply AI-assisted technology – that means there are always human beings making the final decisions.
Discover a few examples of how we leverage the potential of AI at Siemens Mobility.
Watch our videos on AI
AI in Mobility - thought leadership perspective
We hosted a senior-level roundtable discussion exploring artificial intelligence in mobility. Watch this video to gain insights into the different facets of AI, from practical applications to ethical considerations, and learn more about its transformative potential in the mobility sector.
Railway safe zone monitoring
AI helps automate critical safety monitoring by detecting obstacles across tracks, level crossings, and platforms. Our high-performance system processes data in real-time, instantly alerting drivers and safety systems when potential hazards are detected, while maintaining exceptional accuracy to minimize false alarms and ensure maximum system reliability.
Maintenance planning and execution
We use AI to process vast amounts of data coming from measuring equipment on the trains. This gives us a real-time view on the condition of different assets. Tools like Health States and Remaining Useful Life then use these data to help our customers focus on where there is an actual or potential fault, so they can act accordingly ahead of time.
Digital track capturing and digital site survey
AI helps us process data from the tracks, customer data and georeferenced survey data, which could otherwise not be handled manually. We use these insights to create a digital twin that supports our engineering processes for more efficient and reliable rail operations.
Project planning
With a multitude of disciplines and stakeholders involved, our software Project Insight Board (PIB) integrates all processes into one holistic data model. This enables data-driven decision making and end-to-end transparency for large scale projects. In the future PIB will leverage AI to address the complexity of managing megaprojects around the globe.
Security inside trains
AI is helping us increase passenger satisfaction and safety through real-time analysis of CCTV footage. iCCTV can be used to detect escalating aggressive behavior on a train and immediately inform the operator to take measures accordingly, e.g. broadcast an on-board message or notify the police.
Assisted and driverless train operations
In collaboration with our partners, we are developing solutions to seamlessly integrate AI into regional trains. The safe.trAIn project is exploring the future of rail transportation in assisted and driverless train operation.
AI for engineering
Through responsible integration of AI in our engineering processes, we can optimize workflows, unlock capacity and enhance our designs.
The role of AI in the future
Siemens Mobility is uniquely equipped to deliver AI for the mobility sector because of our domain knowhow, IT expertise and pioneering role in safety, engineering, automation and digitalization. Together with our customers and partners, we are using AI to build a better future for rail.
For instance, the convergence of IT, OT and IoT (enhanced by AI) is revolutionizing operations by enabling real-time data integration, predictive maintenance and optimized energy use.
Recently, we have made advancements in the accuracy, reliability and robustness of AI algorithms, paving the way for potential full automation, e.g. GoA3/4 driving in complex scenarios (beyond today’s GoA4 metros).
Also, industrial AI holds tremendous potential to advance sustainability. On the basis of a digital twin, it can help design products using more sustainable materials and with a lower carbon footprint or provide valuable insights for recycling materials, such as precious metals, and thus advancing circularity.
Our AI mindset
At Siemens Mobility, we have always seen technology as a means to an end. That’s why we face the potential of AI head on, assessing what it can do for us, while also keeping a clear head about the challenges it poses. This internal mindset is not confined to a central think tank. Our AI development is embedded across our business units, while strategic coordination is upheld by a dynamic, interdisciplinary team.
This mindset extends beyond our company, as well. We make a point of collaborating with multiple external partners to drive the potential of AI forward for our industry, for instance on the safetrAIn project and Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking (EU-Rail).
From industrial-grade AI across our portfolio to general purpose AI to support our experts behind the scenes, AI is using many data sources to free up the incredible potential of networked data – and freeing up our team to do what they do best.
AI Whitepaper
Read about our industrial AI solutions today – and an outlook on what is coming tomorrow – in our white paper “How artificial intelligence is transforming the mobility industry”.