SBIR-STTR Award

Although the market clearly has several ride quality meters commercially available, the FRA wishes to investigate the possibility of designing a very compact and ultra portable ride quality meter (UPRQM) for allowing railroad inspectors to assess ride safety and quality on revenue trains as well as track locations responsible for the worst ride. Given the emergence of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology, sophisticated low power GPS chipsets, and ultra portable laptop computers, the ability to design and develop a compact ride quality meter meeting the FRA's requirements is more than feasible. The UPRQM designed with this emerging technology will allow the FRA to measure more conditions, more accurately, and locate them more precisely than the current market versions used in loss and damage prevention. Phase I of this SBIR includes the design and development of an ultra portable ride quality meter (UPRQM) prototype. The results will provide the justification and system design specification for developing a cost-effective and custom-manufactured production UPRQM in Phase II.

The Ultra Portable Ride Quality Meter (UPRQM) is a cost-effective, flexible tool that can evolve (with minimal effort) as new GPS and accelerometer devices become commercially available. Each generation of these sensor devices is more responsive, more sensitive, and more accurate than the last generation. The time between generations is also decreasing such that accelerometer and GPS technology becomes outdated in just a matter of months. dFuzion understands how easily technology can become obsolete, and has therefore designed a flexible custom software that can adapt to emerging technology with minimal effort. dFuzion's UPRQM consists of a COTS GPS, a COTS accelerometer, and custom control software. In the Phase I effort, dFuzion developed a prototype UPRQM that integrated the most technologically advanced COTS GPS device and accelerometers available. In Phase II, dFuzion will advance the Phase I prototype to a fully functioning production UPRQM. The UPRQM will allow railroad inspectors to collect, monitor, and analyze ride quality data that is geo-spatially correlated. The inspectors can then make safety and maintenance recommendations (backed by scientific data) to ensure that the train and track are protected. Principal Investigator: Robert J. Borgovini CEO (703) 946-8961 rborgovini@dfuzion.com Business Contact: Treasa B. Parakkat President (703) 946-8961 tparakkat@dFuzion.com Small Business Information at