FRANCE: A day of knowledge-sharing was held in Villeneuve d’Ascq on January 21 bringing together specialists from research agencies Ifsttar and Railenium and electronics supplier CEA-Leti.
Hosted by Ifsttar - the national Institute of Science & Technology for Transport, Development & Networks - the seminar was designed to assess how far emerging technologies might be used for railway innovations. Of particular focus was the research being carried out jointly by Ifsttar and CEA-Leti into micro- and nanotechnology. CEA-Leti is a specialist in the design and production of components in this field, and is keen to develop a partnership to explore opportunities in rail.
Representatives from the Railenium railway research centre provided insight into potential areas of application, including radio-controlled braking, infrastructure condition monitoring and possession safety management.
