Thalys uses Kontron's TRACe IoT LoRa gateway

Augsburg, Germany / Toulon, France, September 18, 2018 – Kontron, a leading global provider of IoT/Embedded Computer Technology (ECT), announced today that the railway company Thalys is using their TRACe LoRa-MQTT, the first EN50155-certified IoT LoRa gateway.

Bernard Féaux, Business Development Manager at Kontron: "What convinced Thalys was the modularity of our platforms (TRACe), combined with a private, train-accompanying LoRa communication network. A simple 10 cm antenna allows coverage of up to ten railcars. Traditional communication systems with a ground-based LoRa infrastructure would only work inside stations, whereas the LoRa network created by Kontron is not dependent on the train's location, its speed or the positioning of the sensors."

The TRACe LoRa-MQTT combines a secure LoRa network server with an IoT gateway streaming MQTT to the Cloud, enabling data collection from different sensors as well as remote analysis. It is part of Kontron’s TRACe portfolio and is designed specifically for the transport sector, specializing in excellent stability in challenging environments.

EN50155 certification enables Kontron to guarantee the resistance to temperature, shock, and vibration required by Thalys.

At the end of a successful 18 months pilot phase, Thalys is highly satisfied with their initial experience of Kontron's IoT gateway, especially with regard to the link-up with maintenance sensors as well as with Skiply client satisfaction terminals used for large-scale collection of client feedback. The Franco-Belgian corporation is considering additional functionality for monitoring both temperature and sanding system, which would allow huge savings in train maintenance. According to Thalys, Kontron’s support was efficient and on schedule during every phase of the pilot project.

TRACe LoRa-MQTT has numerous potential applications within the railroad industry. Systems for real-time detection of seats occupied or the current number of visitors in the dining car are two examples that would enable railway companies to provide a better passenger service.    

For more information please visit: https://www.kontron.com/products/systems/transportation-computers/trace-railway-computers/trace-loramqtt.html 

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About Thalys 
Thalys is the high-speed red train which travels from Paris to Brussels in 1 hour 22 minutes, to Cologne in 3 hours 14 minutes and Amsterdam in only 3 hours and 16 minutes. Since April 2014, Thalys has also provided a link between Amsterdam and Lille in a time of 2 hours and 40 minutes. In Germany, Thalys takes you as far as Dortmund since 2016. Founded in 1996, Thalys is the only truly multicultural rail service to have achieved a high-speed international link between four countries. It is a commercial success as well as a technical one (since 2008, Thalys implemented on board WiFi, and in 2009, started using a new train management system, known as ERTMS). Against this backdrop, on 31 March 2015, Thalys became a fully-fledged railway company, with a goal of increasing efficiency and fluidity, and further improving the service and customer satisfaction.

For more information, please visit: www.thalys.com

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About Kontron – An S&T Company
Kontron is a global leader in IoT/embedded computing technology (ECT). As a part of technology group S&T, Kontron offers a combined portfolio of secure hardware, middleware and services for Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0 applications. With its standard products and tailor-made solutions based on highly reliable state-of-the-art embedded technologies, Kontron provides secure and innovative applications for a variety of industries. As a result, customers benefit from accelerated time-to-market, reduced total cost of ownership, product longevity and the best fully integrated applications overall.

For more information, please visit: www.kontron.com

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For further information please contact:

Alexandra Habekost
Head of Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
Kontron S&T AG
Tel: +49 (0) 821 4086 114
alexandra.habekost@kontron.com

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