Sask. company shows off innovative new rail technology

A Saskatchewan invention could become the next big thing in rail technology.

On Thursday, Saskatoon-based company RAYHAWK showcased its autonomous opening system for rail car lids. The company began creating the technology for the system after receiving money through the Saskatchewan Advantage Innovation Fund.

“There is no other technology out there like this,” CEO Tom Boehm said when unveiling his company’s latest model on Thursday.

On the surface, the technology appears to be pretty simple. A camera mounted to an overhead track autonomously follows the train cars passing below and detects when to latch and unlatch the hooks securing the lids of each car. But behind the scenes, the system combines computer vision and machine learning to perform its precise task autonomously.

The company said the system opens the lids in a safe, reliable and efficient way for the loading of bulk materials, and Boehm said the technology can really speed up loading times.

“This is an extremely fast way of loading rail cars,” he explained.

“We’ve also developed the technology to work on moving rail cars, so a train doesn’t need to stop. We can do it so fast that we can almost open two cars at a time at that same speed.”

Boehm added that the technology can also help out the industry, which has been dealing with staffing issues.

“Finding workers to do that work is becoming an increasing challenge. It’s a human capital shortage, and not so much a safety issue,” Boehm stated.

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He said there is already lots of interest in the product.

“We’ve been in discussions with grain companies for a number of years now,” the CEO said.

“We announced this company through social media networks in June, 2021, and within a handful of days we had ag companies at our door asking about the technology and wanting to adopt the technology for their newest facilities.”

Boehm said another perk of their invention is that it can run in all types of weather – including Saskatchewan winters it gets as cold as -40 C.

He’s hopeful they’ll be able to install their first unit this year.