Projects/2024
Digital Twin-Based Desert Environment Monitoring for Rail Tracks
NYU Abu Dhabi · CAIR with Etihad Rail
Challenge, contribution, and outcome
CHALLENGE
Collect rail-corridor data to investigate sand movement, water accumulation, and vegetation encroachment under UAE field conditions.
MY CONTRIBUTION
Designed the train-mounted LiDAR and camera system and ran the field experiment with Nikolaos Evangeliou.
OUTCOME
Field-piloted a train-mounted sensing payload to collect corridor data for subsequent 3D environmental monitoring research.
Project overview
A field pilot within the NYUAD–Etihad Rail collaboration, using rearward-facing LiDAR and cameras to capture the rail corridor. I designed the sensing system, and Nikolaos Evangeliou and I ran the field experiment. The wider research concept uses these observations to reconstruct the track-side environment in 3D and investigate environmental change for maintenance planning.
System Record
- Application
- APPRail Transport
- Period
- 2024
Development & Validation
- Targets data collection for rail-corridor hazards including sand movement, water accumulation, and vegetation growth.
- The pilot mounted LiDAR and cameras on a train to collect the observations needed for subsequent 3D reconstruction and environmental monitoring.
- The proposed analysis would compare environmental observations over time and investigate alerts for operators and maintenance teams.
- The longer-term concept is to aggregate observations from multiple trains for network-wide monitoring and maintenance planning.
Credits & Collaborators
Nikolaos Giakoumidis
NYU Abu Dhabi · CAIR
System design · experiment
Nikolaos Evangeliou
NYU Abu Dhabi · CAIR
Research Scientist · experiment
Etihad Rail
Industry partner
Publications & media
Video
Related Work
Outreach
Industry engagement recorded alongside this project.