In a breakthrough for industrial safety and productivity, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and Indian industrial engineering firm Tooltech have introduced a cutting-edge environmental monitoring system designed to prevent accidents and reduce costly disruptions in the transport and mining sectors.
The innovation, which combines radar, thermal imaging, satellite positioning, and artificial intelligence, is engineered to function reliably in some of the world’s harshest weather conditions.
Exceptional weather events — such as dense fog, torrential rain, and snowstorms — pose significant hazards and financial burdens for railways and mines worldwide.
The new sensor system, developed by VTT and Tooltech, enables vehicles to detect obstacles, including humans and animals, from more than 200 metres away, even in near-zero visibility.
The system, which consists of advanced software and a sensing box mounted on the front of trains or work machines, has already demonstrated promising results during field tests on India’s railroads.
In regions where train collisions with people and animals like cows, dogs, and elephants are common, and where fog often reduces train speeds to just 20 km/h, the technology has proven its value.
According to early results, trains equipped with the system can travel at significantly higher speeds without compromising safety, while the number of accidents drops sharply.
The technology is currently under evaluation by The Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), with Indian Railways set to become its first end-user.
“The test results in India show that the technology delivers a dramatic improvement to safety,” said Matti Kutila, Research Team Leader at VTT
“There is also potential for applying the technology in Europe and the United States.
“For example, Germany and California experience up to a hundred foggy days a year,”
Beyond railways, the sensor system is poised to transform the mining industry, where unplanned shutdowns due to adverse weather can lead to major financial losses.
By enabling safer operations in extreme conditions, the technology reduces downtime and boosts productivity.
Director of Tooltech, Atul Khanna said: “The sensor system improves the productivity of the work machines and improves safety.
“As the number of unplanned shutdowns decreases, capacity utilisation of the machinery goes up and production volumes increase.
“This affects the bottom line of the mines directly.”
The sensor system is part of VTT’s broader initiative to develop reliable solutions for challenging environments.
With plans to export the technology to other developing markets, VTT and Tooltech Europe aim to make extreme weather conditions less of an obstacle for industries worldwide.
