Austria | Germany | France | Sweden | India | USA | China | Singapore
Cloud-based Railway Bridge Monitoring with Solar Powered Q.series DAQ
News | 2 minutes Reading Time |

Cloud-based Railway Bridge Monitoring with Solar Powered Q.series DAQ

For a large railway operator, Gantner Instruments continuously monitors a railway bridge using displacement transducers to detect deflection in bridge support elements.

Bridge movement is measured with every passing train and data is transferred to a Gantner Cloud system via 4G modem. In the case of unwanted bridge movement, an alarm is generated and the Railway Operations Center is notified by Email. For every passing train, data is acquired at 500Hz with high resolution to ensure precise measurement of bridge movements for further evaluation.

The challenge was the tight schedule to provide a solution with no possibility to power the measurement system from any local grid. In combination with the demand to generate fast and precise measurement data with every passing train, the power supply system had to be designed with great care. After analysis of the local region’s weather data from the past 5 years, two solar panels were selected along with a high-quality Lithium-Ion battery. This carefully selected combination of products guarantees several days of measurement autonomy, even under harsh environmental conditions including low temperature and solar radiation during the winter season.

The entire process from first customer interaction to the installation and commissioning of the off-grid measurement system took only 3 months. Gantner Instruments was responsible for the complete system design of the measurement cabinet as well as the simulation and design of the solar powered off-grid system. After 2 weeks of full-scale testing at Gantner Instruments’ headquarters located in Schruns, the complete measurement system was delivered on-site.

Thanks to close cooperation with the customer during all project phases, both the installation and commissioning of the complete measurement system were executed within one day. With the Gantner Cloud system now in operation, data is collected with every passing train while live measurement values and system status information is accessible for railway crew with just a few mouse clicks. With a web browser-based fleet monitoring system such as the Gantner Cloud, it is possible to manage any number of constructions, regardless if on-site grid power is available.

More articles

Success Stories

Monitoring Porto’s New 400-Meter Metro Bridge

Porto is expanding its metro network, and a key challenge was building a new Douro River crossing that enhances mobility without disrupting the city’s iconic bridge landscape. The result is Ponte Ferreirinha, a slender concrete frame bridge carrying metro trains, cyclists, and pedestrians, blending seamlessly into a dense urban environment.

Read more...
News

GI-Team in Berlin

This year we decided to celebrate our annual summer party in Germany and traveled with almost all employees to Berlin on June 25. After a cozy evening at "Lembke's Spezialitäten Brauerei" we went sightseeing in Germany's capital on Sunday.

Read more...
News

Q.bloxx A105 CR Cryo Module with Extended Range

Cryo Technology is a rapidly growing market and therefore more and more new sensor kinds appear. A clear trend is that these cryogenic temperature sensors move to higher resistance. With Gantner’s cryo module – the Q.bloxx A105 CR – a measurement range of up to 25kohms is now possible. The module is available as standard DIN rail module, or as Q.brixx/Q.raxx with 4 times 4-pole-LEMO (ERA.1S.304.CLL).

Read more...
Events

Hydrogen Future Conference

The Regional Hydrogen Future Conference will take place on 11 February 2026 in Augsburg and is organized by IHK Schwaben. The conference focuses on green hydrogen as a key driver for sustainable value creation resilient energy systems and climate friendly mobility. The event brings together experts from business politics and science and offers space for exchange networking and new ideas around the hydrogen economy.

Read more...