The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is deploying innovative measures in an ongoing struggle to maintain New York City's substantial, and aged, subway infrastructure. Recent developments reveal Google Pixel smartphones might play an integral role in ensuring the safety of the subway tracks, potentially outperforming even the keenest human inspector.
Following an incident on the 1 line in Washington Heights that resulted in a train catching fire and injuring 18, authorities have been spurred into action to find preventative solutions. An unknown object contacted the third rail, setting the events in motion, and now MTA Transit President Demetrius Crichlow has confirmed to CBS News New York that the organization is "studying technology that helps scan the tracks for debris as the train is moving." Crichlow elaborates, "It's telling us in advance, I found something out on the roadbed that could be of concern, please send a maintainer to take a look at this specific location."
Back in January, the MTA had already initiated a pilot program which saw the testing of off-the-shelf smartphones to detect irregularities on rails. This came as part of a push against the MTA's habit of purchasing pricey, tailor-made equipment. Rob Sarno, MTA assistant chief track officer, highlighted the efficacy of this simpler technology in a conversation with CBS News, "We would pick out segments of higher-than-normal noise levels and they would send that data to us. We would actually then go out and verify if it's a defective rail."
Interestingly, Sarno, whose skepticism was well noted at the outset of the smartphone experiment, witnessed Google's AI detect track problems with a 92% accuracy rate. Conversely, Sarno himself achieved 80% when reviewing the same data. Despite this, he maintains that "This cannot replace a track inspector," emphasizing the supplementary nature of the technology to Gothamist, "It's giving the track inspectors more tools to do their job, but it cannot replace them."
The findings of Google's technology could potentially offer advancements in early detection of track issues, which in the case of recent events, might prevent dangerous incidents before they occur. The MTA's openness to exploring "what other similar technology is out there," as Sarno suggested to Gothamist, marks a potentially pivotal shift toward more modern, cost-effective safety solutions that leverage widely available technology.
