This shape-shifting bike for railway track inspections is a swanky EV when off duty

Posted on 20/06/2022 by Gaurav Sood

Railway maintenance personnel have to walk long distances to perform their task. This routine,by the way,can be really taxing in extreme weather conditions and calls for a practical solution that is useful beyond the limits of the railway tracks. Step into the concept design world, and you’ll find the perfect solution with the added perks.

The Railway Motorcycle is never-before-seen ideation to make the life of railways personnel easier, and more importantly, the safety of railway tracks 100 percent fullproof to avert any major incidents. After all lives of hundreds of people boarding trains, each day depends on these checks. The idea is to have a dual utility two-wheeler that hops on the railway tracks for easy inspection of any fault lines, and as a stylish bike for when you are not working. Yes, the suspension of this motorbike is done in a way to adjust to the two very different surfaces, and modes of riding.

Designer: Heqi Wang

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The hubless wheels of this bike radiate the typical character we have come to witless in futuristic concepts seen thus far. Where it differs is the long-wheelbase biased towards the front rather than the rear. Now, that’s something different we get to see with this particular concept design. The electric motor on the Railway Motorcycle is positioned in the center to maintain balance while tilting on sharp curves at high speeds.

In the railway mode, the side sliding panel shifts down to tether with the railway track to prevent any disbalance. Since the wheels in this mode move upwards, the instrument panel, saddle, pedal and taillight ditch the traditional squarish design to make the switch possible. Then when it’s time to switch back to the conventional city driving mode, the side panel moves up into place, and the bike looks like any other futuristic two-wheeler we all in the concept design world are accustomed to seeing.

The post This shape-shifting bike for railway track inspections is a swanky EV when off duty first appeared on Yanko Design.

In the face of COVID-19, one hyperloop company is making friends

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German railways hope to fight graffiti with thermal imaging drones

Posted on 28/05/2013 by Nicole Lee

Drones aren't just for war, creating airborne logos or patrolling Aussie beaches. If German railway operators have their way, they'd be used to capture graffiti artists, too. Motivated by the high cost of property damage incurred by spray-painting vandals (around 7.6 million euros / $10 million a year), the Deutsche Bahn will soon begin testing miniature helicopter-style drones in the hopes of identifying those responsible. Each remote-controlled chopper is equipped with an infrared sensor capable of thermal imaging and producing high-resolution photos that would be useful to authorities. The tiny aircraft can also fly up to 150 meters (500 feet) and as fast as 33 mph and would cost about 60,000 euros ($77,550) each. The Bahn assured the public that the mini drones will be restricted to highly targeted areas, which should help allay those privacy concerns.

[Image Credit: thierry ehrmann, Flickr]

Filed under: Robots, Alt

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Source: BBC, RTL

German National Railways to Employ Anti-Graffiti Drones

Posted on 28/05/2013 by sumayah

Graffiti is as old as mankind. While it serves as a safety valve for excess human frustration and aggressive impulses, it can be a public menace. Take the case of the German National Railways....

Saved By The Bed

Posted on 22/04/2013 by Radhika Seth

The idea of a safety bed nestled within the railway track system is more than necessary for countries like India, where track-deaths are plenty. U-Roadbed is a U-Shaped roadbed created in the sleepers of the track. This cavity safely nestles the unfortunate person who slips onto the tracks of an upcoming train. I like the idea because any chance offered at survival and saving life is a good one. I only hope it’s a doable idea.

Designer: Ruidong Wu

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(Saved By The Bed was originally posted on Yanko Design)

Indian Railways launches RailRadar, lets you track trains via Google Maps

Posted on 11/10/2012 by Nicole Lee

Indian Railways has just made it a little easier for rail travelers with a new web app called RailRadar, which uses Google Maps to track trains on a real-time basis. This is certainly welcome on one of the largest rail networks in the world -- it operates more than 10,000 trains everyday -- though the service is only available on 6,500 trains for now. To find out where your train is, simply search for its name or number and RailRadar will spot it for you. You can also find trains by entering the name of the station. Blue highlights indicate trains that are on time while red means it's behind schedule. If you click on a train, it'll show its entire route from start to finish. The logical next step would be for this to be on smartphones like how it is in Japan, though we're not sure if that's in the cards just yet.

[Thanks, dil]

Filed under: Transportation, Internet

Indian Railways launches RailRadar, lets you track trains via Google Maps originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Oct 2012 02:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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