AIVR Thermal
What is it
AIVR Thermal is a smart capture and analytics solution from One Big Circle that uses synchronised visible and thermal imaging to identify anomalously hot assets on the rail network, primarily electrical equipment. Systems are installed on trains or other rail vehicles and automatically collect data as they move, with captured imagery transmitted, visualised through the AIVR Platform, and automatically analysed. Automated alerts can be incorporated into fault control and management systems to support prompt investigation and response.
AIVR Thermal detects anomalously hot electrical equipment, enabling early intervention before critical failures occur.
Why it matters
Thermal anomalies often provide early warning of developing faults, enabling intervention before they lead to failures, service disruption or safety incidents. By automating hotspot detection across large route mileage, AIVR Thermal helps engineers focus on credible risks rather than manually trawling video or relying on ad hoc lineside reports. It can help prevent events such as critical component failures, fires and large‑scale power or signalling failures by catching overheating components early.
Where it is used
AIVR Thermal is intended for deployment on vehicles operating across the rail network, including passenger trains, freight trains, measurement vehicles and road-rail vehicles, so it can monitor lineside and on-train infrastructure during normal operations. The captured data is processed centrally and made available via the AIVR Platform allowing geographically dispersed teams to review hotspots regardless of where they were observed.
AIVR Thermal systems installed on trains and rail vehicles automatically capture synchronized visible and thermal imagery during normal operations. Image: Hotshot train.
When it is used
The system operates whenever configured smart capture rules are met, typically using motion-activated recording and AIVR Dynamic Demand to control when and where data is gathered and uploaded. Alerts are generated after processing whenever hotspots exceed configured thresholds, with best-case email notification latencies of around 10 minutes, typically 1–2 hours depending on connectivity and upload queues.
AIVR Platform displays detected thermal hotspots with priority assignment.
Who uses it
AIVR Thermal is used by rail asset owners, operators and maintainers (such as Network Rail) who need timely visibility of emerging thermal faults on their infrastructure. Operations, maintenance and engineering teams use the workflow tools to track hotspots as “Issues” over time, assign priorities, add notes and references and coordinate remedial actions.
How it works
AIVR Thermal applies thermography and advanced computer vision and deep learning, to detect anomalously hot objects while accounting for ambient temperature, lighting and known false-positive sources. Dedicated Machine Learning models and motion tracking filter out common false positives such as braking systems, points heating, reflections and intense light, while indeterminate hotspots can be queued for manual review before alerts are issued. Detected hotspots are grouped into persistent Issues based on location, given lifecycle states (New, Acknowledged, Updated, Closed) and trigger configurable email alerts whenever observations exceed static and optional dynamic temperature thresholds.