FEATURE CABLES & CONNECTORS At first sight, there is not a lot that links the world of Formula One


racing with that of rail engineering. However, they both face a similar challenge – how to maintain two-way connectivity with a fast-moving


vehicle as it travels through a changing environment. Pablo Garcia, product manager – Connected Transport, McLaren Applied, explains


BUILDING A


BETTER-CONNECTED CARRIAGE


network capabilities – at each track the quality of the available networks and constraints on bandwidth varies massively. Engineers therefore needed to find a way to effectively bring together all available network connectivity into a coherent whole. Using its own bespoke algorithms, McLaren


F


Applied was able to create a new software capability which would aggregate any available network – 3G, 4G, 5G,mmWave or WiFi – at high speed. This was immediately successful in the racing world and quickly became the standard for all Formula One teams. But, during the most recent round of UK


rail franchise bidding, various players in the market wanted to differentiate their proposals by promising improved connectivity for travellers up and down the intercity networks. The problem was that this was easy to promise but somewhat trickier to deliver. McLaren Applied, however, recognised


that many of the challenges facing the rail industry were strikingly similar to those that had faced the Formula One teams. For example, a train travelling between London and Edinburgh must be able to establish and maintain stable connectivity while continually passing between busy urban areas and remote rural environments. The solution was to adapt the Formula One technology to create something that would work in the rail industry – Fleet Connect.


THE SYSTEM At the heart of the new systemis a patented aggregation software calledmFLARE. This is very high performing, managing handover between networks and aggregating them in a well optimised way – thus minimising the opportunities for the connectivity to be lost as the train moves from link to link along the track. The system also converts WiFi for the onboard systems and passengers to use. One of the newest train operators to use the


McLaren Fleet Connect solution is Avanti West Coast which runs trains fromLondon to


4


The refurbished rolling stock included all new hardware connectivity as well as Fleet Connect software, providing reliable connectivity for passengers


2 DESIGN SOLUTIONS NOVEMBER 2021


or Formula One, the challenge was getting reliable performance data from a high-speed vehicle across patchy


Glasgow, a 345mile and, on average, four-and half-hour journey. The train operating company had committed to upgrading the fleet of high- speed trains that were running on the west coast line. This included bringing high-speed connectivity to a range of systems across the company’s fleet, from passenger Wi-Fi, to Electronic Point of Sale (EPOS), CCTV video analytics and passenger Information; as well as creating amore reliable environment for people to work or use theirmobile devices. When launched, the refurbished rolling


stock included all new hardware connectivity as well as Fleet Connect software, providing reliable connectivity for passengers. The new capabilities that were introduced to the Avanti fleet resulted in huge improvements in customer experience – it achieved the highest passenger satisfaction scores in the UK for long distance rail WiFi availability in the 2020 National Passenger Survey. In just 12 months, passenger satisfaction increased by 55%. In tests, the Fleet Connect systemhas shown to support 52%more successful downloads of


a 20Mb file than other train connectivity systems, as well as a 38% faster download time (58.7 secs versus 81.13 secs). The aggregation algorithms also ensure that the user load is more evenly distributed between the different mobile networks, making for improvements in overall performance and data usage. Improved connectivity for the carriages has


benefits for the train operator beyond superior customer experience. For example, better connectivity means performance data can be gathered more reliably from the rolling stock. In turn, this can improve the train operator’s understanding of what maintenance and repairs need to happen in order to optimise running costs and reduce the length of time that carriages are out of service.


FURTHER APPLICATIONS While trains have been themain application for Fleet Connect so far, we are now bringing our F1- inspired technology to othermodes of transport, such as connected buses andmaritime transport. As the transport industry evolves and new


mobile technologies such as 5G roll out, connectivity will only become more important to the successful performance of a transport operator. The rise of smart cities with integrated public transport networks will depend upon confidence in uninterrupted connectivity between vehicles. Intelligent network aggregation technologies will therefore play an important, if largely unseen, role in achieving the smart city ambition.


McLaren Applied www.mclaren.com/applied


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