NY: Tech helps to address transit challenges in New York

Sep. 27—New technologies are helping local governments better understand bridge conditions, determine locations for street-side electric vehicle charging and even use robots for small maintenance jobs.

These improvements and more are part of the latest “proof of concept” phase of the the sixth annual Transit Tech Lab competition, organized by the four transit agencies serving the New York City metro area. The Transit Tech Lab was formed by the Partnership for New York City with the aim of partnering early-stage companies with the transit agencies to align technology with the needs of transit.

The projects could be seen as whimsical mashups between the pragmatic day-to-day needs of operating transit in the nation’s most transit-heavy metro and the flurry of emerging technologies like lidar, robots, IoT sensors and the many other peripheral supporting roles played by cloud-computing or artificial intelligence.

“One of the main benefits of the Lab is to help New York’s regional transit agencies understand how new technologies can solve their internal pressing challenges,” said Stacey Matlen, senior vice president of innovation at the Partnership for New York City, in an email. “Often the technologies that are ripe for implementation in these large government agencies are ones that have been proven in other environments or sectors, and can be applied in a new way in a transit environment.”

All told, 18 companies moved toward the “proof of concept” phase of the project earlier this year. They were selected from a list of 150 submittals. Then in May, the companies began collaborating with transit agency partners to start working through the problem to be solved, and the technology solution to be developed.

The companies included Irmos Technologies, which installed nine vibration sensors at key locations on three bridges operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The sensors, which officials say can be installed in less than 30 minutes, offer information about structural integrity and maintenance recommendations.

“Our successful proof of concept with the Port Authority demonstrated the ease of use and the practical value of our solution in prioritizing maintenance,” said Panagiotis Martakis, founder and CEO of Irmos Technologies, in an email.

The technology uses advanced AI-based algorithms to translate bridge vibrations into “structural condition metrics.” Irmos will soon begin a yearlong pilot with the Port Authority to monitor other bridges.

Another project plugged into the most basic of urban furniture — the streetlight.

Voltpost worked with New Jersey Transit and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to identify three sites for the possible deployment of its technology, which retrofits streetlamps with car-charging infrastructure.

“If we can have an outlet everywhere then people wont have a fear of range anxiety, and that will cause this next huge wave of adoption,” said Luke Mairo, co-founder and chief operating officer at Voltpost, speaking on an EV charging panel in July. The event was organized by Veloz, an EV policy and advocacy group in Sacramento, Calif.

Another project employed a handheld robot for trackside maintenance in subway stations. The technology was provided by FLX Solutions where the company’s FLX BOT eliminated the need to deploy a ladder and other equipment to handle small maintenance jobs. Events like these can sometimes delay trains or cause other operational disruptions.

The development of proof-of-concept applications could be imagined as more of the beginning of new partnerships among tech firms and the various transit operators in the New York City metro.

“Companies that require additional testing will move forward with a yearlong pilot,” explained Matlen. “These companies used their proof-of-concept period to develop a pilot project scope with strong goals and [key performance indicators] that can help prove their technology in a yearlong pilot.”

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