Rajant is the pioneer of the world’s most reliable, scalable and readily deployed kinetic mesh network technology, with large, trusted installations providing 24x7x365 communications in some of the most demanding environments imaginable.
The essence of kinetic mesh networking is motion and flexibility, qualities that are paramount in demanding industries such as railroads, mining, oil and gas, and military applications. The ability to reliably connect multiple stationary and in-motion assets is what sets Rajant apart.
Rajant kinetic mesh networks are pervasive, multi-frequency wireless solutions that enable secure communications over a portable meshed wireless network. Rajant BreadCrumb network nodes communicate with IP-based client devices such as laptops, PDAs, video cameras, satellite terminals, networked radios, RFIDs and sensor devices.
The Rajant BreadCrumb solution is a wireless broadband network node that creates a wireless mesh with neighboring BreadCrumb nodes, both fixed and mobile. The core routing software, InstaMesh, enables nearly instantaneous connections to moving nodes, creating a highly resilient, high-bandwidth network.
Broadband connectivity for rail velocity and efficiency
Freight rail operations require substantial equipment and manpower, and carefully orchestrated logistics, all dispersed over vast, often remote, geographic areas.
The infrastructure that the rail industry relies upon is a finite resource, and is mostly owned, built, maintained and paid for by the freight companies themselves, unlike trucks, barges and airlines, which operate on infrastructure paid for by taxpayers. Profitability depends on the optimized flow of freight across the network of rails and trains. This flow – rail velocity – is maintained through a careful balance of human judgment, automation and information technology.
Today, wired and wireless networks play a critical role in routing the real-time data that helps maintain rail velocity. Sensors and analytics monitor and measure everything from equipment health, train speeds and locations, wheel conditions and freight status to weather, fuel consumption, traffic optimization and more.
As monitoring technology becomes more sophisticated, the volume of data generated by freight lines grows exponentially, requiring further investment in data networking infrastructure. Adding track is expensive enough – around $2.5m per mile of added rail. Adding fiber-optic networks along the thousands of miles of track is economically impractical. As a result, the increasingly vital data infrastructure supporting rail lines must be flexible, robust and easily deployed.
Kinetic mesh networking technology
The ability to reliably network these assets and leverage technology to optimize rail velocity represents a substantial advantage in terms of efficiency, safety and profitability. Rajant’s kinetic mesh networking technology offers a reliable, readily-deployed solution for connecting the equipment, applications, data and people that drive the freight rail industry.
With its ability to connect the railroad’s many in-motion and fixed assets with a self-healing, high-availability broadband connection with no single point of failure, which actually grows stronger as network nodes are added, Rajant’s kinetic mesh networking technology represents a nearly infinite data network resource to help orchestrate the delicate balance of freight flow on the finite network of rails and trains.
Bandwidth for demanding applications
The powerful flexibility of Rajant’s wireless BreadCrumb network nodes and InstaMesh routing technology can be applied to virtually any stationary or in-motion asset where data and communications are needed. For example, a cluster of Rajant BreadCrumb nodes situated on a group of wells, pipelines or drilling platforms are readily connected via satellite transponder or ground-b to satisfy a full range of voice, video and data communications needs.
Rajant networks are designed for rapid deployment, resilience and flexibility, and can handle the application data and communications traffic required by such large-scale operations. With Rajant technology, all network nodes can be in motion all the time, and there is no single ‘controller’ node on the network, so no single point of failure. The range of applications supported by this technology is virtually unlimited, from remote monitoring of platform and equipment conditions, to voice and data communications, and video security.
In-motion nodes and sensors
Rajant networks are completely portable and can easily support hundreds of in-motion nodes and sensors covering wide areas. Unlike competitors’ fixed infrastructure networks, the Rajant BreadCrumb wireless network transceivers can extend communications reach into new territories as needed. Even in areas where no infrastructure exists, Rajant BreadCrumb nodes create a robust and resilient wireless mesh network.
Rajant’s InstaMesh protocol, a proprietary data routing algorithm, enables continuous and instantaneous routing of wireless and wired connections by determining the best pathways between any two points on a network, even when those points are in motion. This approach provides robust fault tolerance, high throughput and low latency. Ultimately, it also provides flexibility for customers in remote and changing environments.
Rajant solutions are designed for extreme reliability under extreme conditions. Kinetic mesh networking technology ensures distributed control of BreadCrumb communications routing, resulting in unparalleled in redundancy and availability.
Flexible kinetic mesh networks
Traditional mesh networks rely on a single access point, which acts as the root node / controller, with all other radios as clients. This one node becomes a single point of failure the moment it goes down and the entire network goes down with it. Through the use of InstaMesh, Rajant creates a true peer-to-peer network, in which every node is independent, with full routing capability.
Rajant Kinetic Mesh Networks provide redundancy on single and multiple frequencies, allowing data to be automatically routed over the best available frequency. Each network node proactively scans the environment and takes corrective action, switching channel or frequency, the moment it senses an interference or obstruction.
In addition to flexibility and reliability, Rajant solutions offer customers the ability to scale wireless networks as demand and distance requirements change. Whereas traditional mesh networks degrade as nodes are added, kinetic mesh networks grow stronger with each additional node. Rajant technology also supports a specialized Voice over IP (VoIP) application, allowing customers to support voice communications even in remote field operations.
IP-connected devices
Rajant BreadCrumb nodes come in a variety of configurations, from ruggedized and fixed-mounted units on vehicles to portable units that can be worn by first responders. These units link with the full spectrum of IP-connected devices to provide reliable coverage.