Union Pacific Delivers Internet Of Things Reality Check by Chris Murphy - InformationWeek
Union Pacific, the nation's largest railroad company, is a choice place to assess the gap between the dream and the reality of what's commonly called the "Internet of things." Like a lot of technology movements, the Internet of things is easy to describe but hard to execute. It means putting sensors on all manner of machines to collect data, linking them over wired and wireless networks, and then applying data analytics to assess when a train's wheel needs replacing, a power plant needs fixing, a soybean field needs watering, or a patient needs reviving.
CIO Lynden Tennison would love to someday get rid of all of those wayside sensors and instead put tiny sensors, called motes, directly on the wheels, bearings, door locks, and more, and collect the data wirelessly. That way, UP could predict weeks out when most repairs are needed and do them when a train is between deliveries and at a major hub.
But there's a long list of obstacles to achieving this dream network:
Wireless coverage isn't everywhere. Sensors are too expensive. Unlimited data can't be instantly analyzed, even by today's computers. Algorithms can't replace human judgment. Location data is incomplete. Batteries are too short-lived. "Those are all things that will come," Tennison says.
Until then, he and his team of 2,000 IT pros keep pushing today's technology to make UP a smarter railroad, testing the limits of the Internet of things as they go.