AI sensors will listen to Prague’s metro escalators for mechanical problems

The Prague Public Transit Company (DPP) has begun working with Czech high-tech firm Neuron Soundware on predictive maintenance for metro escalators.

The project will use 189 sensors to continually monitor the sounds from 21 escalators in Prague’s metro system. The software will use artificial intelligence (AI) to interpret unusual sound patterns that might mean parts require maintenance.

This will allow DPP to focus on specific machinery in its inspection so they can improve monitoring of wear and tear, and replace or repair defective parts before they cause the escalator to break down.

“This allows us to monitor the equipment remotely and send a specialist out if our Neuron Soundware equipment warns us of a change in the condition of the escalator parts,” he added.

Difficulty accessing equipment, the need to make repairs outside ordinary operations, and long waiting times for replacement parts all make escalator maintenance complicated.

“We make use of a reliable, ultimately less costly data processing solution on-site in a microcomputer with no need to send terabytes of data from each machine to the cloud,” he added.

Konečný founded Neuron Soundware in Prague in 2016 as a way to help industrial businesses operate their machines more efficiently and sustainably. The concept was named “Idea of the Year 2016” in the Czech Republic for solution combining AI and IoT (internet of things).

Many of Prague’s metro escalators are Soviet models that date to the 1980s. DPP has been slowly replacing them with newer, safer and more efficient models, as the old ones have outlived their service life. Currently, the Na Knížecí of the Metro D stop at Anděl is under renovation until August 2021.