Managing tight, congested railyards requires precision that standard GPS cannot provide. Tracks are situated tightly to maximize usable space, but managing freight at the track level has technical barriers. Nexxiot partnered with Swift Navigation to deliver track-level location data, enabling operators to increase railcar utilization and improve worker safety.
The Challenge: The Accuracy Gap
Standard GPS lacks the precision to distinguish between parallel tracks. With a margin of error of several meters, dispatchers cannot reliably locate specific assets using GPS alone. This inaccuracy forces manual checks, slowing terminal operations and reducing efficiency.
The Solution: Track-Level Location Monitoring
To solve these challenges, Nexxiot integrated Swift’s SkylarkTM Precise Positioning Service into their latest Globehopper device. Skylark is a cloud-based service that uses advanced atmospheric modeling to improve the accuracy of GPS down to less than one meter.
This integration enables the Globehopper to deliver the track-level positioning required for modern rail operations. Dispatchers can see in real-time if a railcar is on the correct track and can precisely locate freight.
Despite the high precision, the system remains energy-efficient; Skylark’s low-power design, paired with Globehopper’s energy harvesting and intelligent battery management, the result is a long-lasting device that delivers maintenance-free performance for years.
The Results: Efficiency and Safety
The Nexxiot-Swift partnership builds the foundation for autonomous, data-driven supply chains:
- Increased Efficiency: Faster shunting and reduced search times accelerate terminal throughput.
- Enhanced Safety: Automated tracking minimizes the need for workers to perform manual track checks.
- Data Optimization: Sub-meter data feeds Nexxiot’s Intelligent Cloud for advanced utilization analytics.
- Maximum Longevity: By offloading complex processing to the cloud and optimizing battery life, the system achieves track-level precision with minimal power draw, ensuring years of maintenance-free service.
- Global Scalability: A carrier-grade network ensures 99.9% availability and uniform performance across continents.
Standard GPS no longer meets the demands of modern rail. By integrating Skylark into our Globehopper series, we’ve solved the track-level identification problem, creating a foundation for autonomous and efficient supply chains.