According to the Cambridge Center for Smart Infrastructure and Construction, the global opportunity for smart — or digitally enhanced — infrastructure could be worth between 1.52 and 3.64 trillion USD. Unlocking the upper end of this potential and capturing market share requires a technology stack capable of creating real-world value.

The Matrix Intelligent Industry Platform

The Matrix Intelligent Industry Platform is an equipment manufacturing, operation and maintenance solution that combines data gathering, management, modeling and compute functions with the immutable, tracible and sharable characteristics of blockchain technology. The Matrix Intelligent Industry Platform is able to analyze industry data, monitor operational status, optimize performance and manage equipment fault prediction in real-time. The platform combines an input layer, storage layer, processing layer, algorithm layer, and application layer.

Vertically integrated industry data, the ability to generate and manage models, and the facility to intelligently manage decisions by using deep learning, machine learning and generative adversarial networks differentiates the Matrix Intelligent Industry Platform. The platform also integrates with ERP systems, production line management and ticketing systems and supports risk management and advanced fault prediction with visualization and reporting tools.

High-Speed Rails and the Matrix Intelligent Industry Platform

The Matrix Intelligent Industry Platform has broad applications across transport, construction and smart cities. In fact, the Matrix AI Network is already testing and integrating a tailored version of the platform in the operations of 48 locomotives in Kenya and 201 locomotives at the Fengtai Rolling Stock Maintenance Bay in China. Drawing on smart instrumentation and remote data centers, the Matrix Intelligent Industry Platform optimizes every facet of the high-speed rail system; from individual small components through to the full locomotive. The system includes:

1) sensors for gathering, preprocessing and identifying data characteristics;

2) a composite diagnosis based on aggregated data;

3) data-driven fault prediction and early-warning health assessment of equipment using remaining useful life predictions.

The Matrix Intelligent Industry Platform informs decision making by drawing on state-of-the-art frontend diagnostic data collection equipment — like ultrasound diagnostics tools with auto-regulated controls, 3D data visualizations, and damage assessment mechanisms — to produce reliability assessments and useful remaining life projections. The system can be used remotely with IoT predictive fault detection in mechanical equipment using micro-electronic mechanical systems (MEMS), vibration pens, vibration meters, and audio fault instruments.

2019/03/14 Editor’s Note: The Matrix Intelligent Industry Platform combines data collected from different online and offline sources. Data sets are also used for the refinement of prognostic algorithms and models. As researchers, high-quality open-source data is incredibly valuable. The use of NASA PCoE Datasets does not indicate a formal relationship with NASA. More information: https://ti.arc.nasa.gov/tech/dash/groups/pcoe/prognostic-data-repository/

Merging physical and digital infrastructure — such as combining data collected from different sources in high-speed rail systems — can greatly boost performance and safety while lowering operational costs. Increasing connectivity in physical transportation translates to massive economic gains in the real economy. Intelligent infrastructure is strongly buoyed by growth in the digital economy.

The Future

Current projects under development in China and around the world certainly give the Matrix Intelligent Industry Platform a high ceiling for growth. Today, China alone has 80% of the world’s total port equipment, 70% of the world’s high-speed trains, 60% of the world’s excavators, 40% of the world’s marine vessels and 39% of the world’s heavy equipment. On the data side, the market for industrial big data in China will reach 12.3 billion USD by 2020 (Chinese).

Steve Deng, Matrix’s Chief AI Scientist, and Bill Li, Matrix’s Chief Network Architect, have applied or are in the process of applying for 30 patents relating to AI predictive diagnostic methods in high-speed rails. These patents cover AI innovations including the use of GANs in image recognition and object detection, the use of GANS when selecting models from small sample sets (UCR time series sampling), and the use of hybrid spatio-temporal and classification neural networks to accurately predict (>94%) remaining useful life.

The Matrix Intelligent Industry Platform provides end-to-end data processing and management for smart infrastructure using a combination of AI, blockchain, IoT fog computing, cloud computing and distributed storage through the Interplanetary Filing System (IPFS). This secure, high performance and highly interoperable platform can connect virtually to any industry device, data scientists, and business over the blockchain using secure gateways. The Matrix AI Network is poised to take advantage of opportunities to maximize the existing and potential value of infrastructure and industrial operations.