The Internet of Things (IoT) is a possible way of Web evolution. Defined as the system, in which the objects surrounding people in their everyday environment being put on the network1, IoT is bound to reinvent the railway IT systems by making them fully automated.
The innovation is bound to reinvent the entire system of railway information technologies. The IoT may help supervise the processes occurring in the specified area; as a result, a major improvement in time management, as well as the overall performance of the railway IT systems may be expected. Moreover, the creation of smart railway infrastructure with interconnected assets deserves to be mentioned. The incorporation of the IoT system allows for monitoring and controlling the processes related to the railway operations remotely. As a result of the above-mentioned cohesion between the actions of the railway operators, the inspection of the existing assets can be carried out continuously as opposed to the intermittent approach adopted previously2 In addition to the given advances, other efficient methods of monitoring the key operational processes have emerged. These include mobile applications, close circuit television, and radiofrequency identification, to name a few. Specific mobile applications used for optimizing the operations at the railroad allow for working in cohesion with other technologies; for instance, Remote Condition Monitoring allows for a careful analysis of the railway IT landscape scanning. Low battery life compared to the length of the processes occurring at the railway is the only problem that the specified approach has. IoT also provides decent support in the management of the railroad processes. As far as the recent innovations are concerned, the real-time equipment tracking3 deserves to be mentioned. The innovation in question helps drive the possible number of accidents occurring on the railroad to its minimum.
However, the process of railway IT systems development is not over yet. Since information technologies evolve at a fast pace, the subject matter will enter an entirely new stage of development within the next few years. Therefore, a transfer to the use of automatic identification, or Auto-ID, can be viewed as a possibility. However, the specified approach has its problems, as it will require a rapid transformation of the entire system, specifically, the need to create a secure database for information storage. Also, the unrestricted access to real-time data collected for the needs of the railway IT systems is a major vulnerability of the system. It leads to the possibility of information leakage and even the introduction of false data, which may later lead to an accident. Password protected databases will be required for securing the information retrieved with the help of the IoT. The given problem can be addressed by creating ID cards that allow for the identification of the railway staff. Thus, only the people that were granted permission to collect, analyze and alter the data will access it.
Moreover, a solid security system for preventing processes lagging must be incorporated into the design of the specified approach so that no accidents could happen due to the imperfections of the AutoID concept4 The specified issue can be considered the key vulnerability of the project, as it jeopardizes the success of the innovative technology integration. At this point, the real-time equipment tracking devices factor in. Also, inter-equipment communication will provide additional security. Maintenance, regular upgrades and the management of fuel use will contribute to the security and efficacy of the new service.
Reference List
Flanagan, Roger and Carol Jewell. Auto-ID – Bridging the Physical and the Digital on Construction Projects. London, UK: Chartered Institute of Building, 2014.
Internet of Things: Transportation Use Case.” Wind River. 2014. Web.
Jayavardhana Gubbi, Rajkumar Buyya, Slaven Marusic and Marimuthu Palaniswami, “Internet of Things (IoT): A Vision, Architectural Elements, and Future Directions,” Future Generation Computer Systems 29, no. 7 (2014), 1645–1660.
“Remote Condition Monitoring of Rail Assets.” TATA Consultancy Services. 2014. Web.
Footnotes
1. Jayavardhana Gubbi, Rajkumar Buyya, Slaven Marusic, and Marimuthu Palaniswami, “Internet of Things (IoT): A Vision, Architectural Elements, and Future Directions,” Future Generation Computer Systems 29, no. 7 (2014): 1645.
2. “Remote Condition Monitoring of Rail Assets,” (TATA Consultancy Services, 2014), p. 1, Web.
3. “Internet of Things: Transportation Use Case,” (Wind River, 2014), p 1. Web.
4. Roger Flanagan and Carol Jewell, Auto-ID – Bridging the Physical and the Digital on Construction Projects (London, UK: Chartered Institute of Building, 2014), p. 11.