Artificial Intelligence on the Rails: Hitachi Launches Innovative Service for Railways.

Japanese company Hitachi Ltd. has implemented a new railway service using artificial intelligence technology from American company Nvidia Corp., aiming to engage railway operators globally.

The new system, designated as HMAX, was introduced at the InnoTrans 2024 exhibition in Berlin at the end of September. It uses cameras and sensors installed on trains to collect operational data, which is then analyzed by artificial intelligence to detect anomalies and predict the optimal Time for component replacement, reports Kyodo.

This is the first commercial use of artificial intelligence by Hitachi for railway maintenance. The development followed the announcement of a partnership with Nvidia in March. According to the company, the system has already been implemented on some routes in the UK and Italy.

HMAX uses advanced Nvidia graphics processors for rapid analysis of images and sensor data, such as temperature and vibration, collected from operational trains.

This allows for more frequent data collection than traditional maintenance methods, contributing to minimal replacement of components and enhanced overall safety.

"We believe that artificial intelligence has immediate and very important applications that will make railway operations more efficient," said Hitachi Rail CEO Giuseppe Marino at the InnoTrans exhibition.