Data Integration and Cybersecurity

BCRRE investigates fundamental questions about the use of electronic information in the transport domain, from the collection and structured storage of raw data, through efficient processing and algorithms, to the delivery of the appropriate information (that supports their job and fits with their working practices) to staff in a timely manner. 

Current projects include work on large database design; open data; data exchange and modelling; cyber security; and asset management. BCRRE has a Strategic Partnership with Network Rail in Data Integration and Management. This is a £1.6 million, 5-year Strategic Partnership between the University of Birmingham and Network Rail involving:

  • Advising on new ICT technologies & trends
  • Developing concept-based data models for unambiguous data exchange between ICT systems within rail and the wider multimodal transport system
  • Finding new ways of combining and exploiting existing data resources

Other projects include:

  • A novel track crack detection system, designed for use on in-service vehicles, where we are developing a standard XML interface that links the i-R3D2 cloud-based system to existing Network Rail databases via an OSA-CBM compliant model
  • Showing how shared, open access ontologies and linked data can help the rail industry realise its vision to facilitate access to information resources and enable easy integration/combined usage in forming responses to operational queries. The project also seeks to prepare the technology for use by the industry and delivering appropriate data models, documentation and reference implementations
  • Investigating threats posed to the industrial control systems used in transport networks by cyber-attacks and devising assessment processes for system evaluation
  • Creating an intelligent asset management framework for an enterprise-wide, enterprise-class system for remote condition monitoring. This is a multi-partner project to establish a common interface which correlates data from multiple assets and systems to create intelligence from each data source and to reduce operator costs. The group will develop heath assessment and prognostic algorithms to allow actionable information to be delivered to operational staff
  • Developing novel concepts for infrastructure, rail freight, asset monitoring and rail operations, using linked open data for the railways, and data exchange models linking the railways to other transport modes