Wi-Tronix celebrates 15 years of innovation

Aug. 23, 2019
Wi-Tronix first developed the Wi-Pu and has since released the updated Violet Edge.

Wi-Tronix, LLC, is celebrating its 15-year anniversary of providing advanced Internet of Things (IoT) for railroads and transit agencies.

Wi-Tronix technologies connect rail companies in real-time with critical information and actionable insights about how their trains and rail networks are performing. Wi-Tronix works towards the digitalization of rail by providing Edge Processing platforms and a full suite of cloud-based solutions. More than 12,000 rail vehicles from all types of manufacturers are equipped with Wi-Tronix, providing support to over one-third of all locomotives in North America, according to the company.

Founded in 2004 by Larry Jordan, Michael Heilmann, Lisa Matta and Duane Hong, the company began work in Jordan’s basement in the Chicago suburbs. Since then, Wi-Tronix has grown to over 130 personnel focused on bringing innovative technology to the rail industry. Wi-Tronix initially created the Wi-PU. From providing remote event recorder data and accurate fuel readings, to monitoring compliance of operating rules, the Wi-PU has been an IoT platform for numerous years.

In 2016, Wi-Tronix introduced Violet Edge, the evolution of the Wi-PU. Violet Edge can function as an FRA Event Recorder, PTC Event Recorder and digital video recorder or as all three. The Violet Edge Platform provides access to comprehensive time-synchronized data integrating HD video, geo-spatial information and other vehicle data.  As an IoT platform specifically for rail, the Violet Edge is versatile and provides value with options such as real-time data and advanced analytics.

“Over the past fifteen years, teamwork and customer collaboration has helped spark some of the most important product developments,” said Jordan, president and CTO of Wi-Tronix. “We are excited about what we have accomplished in 15 years and looking forward to see where our team can go with the developments in AI [artificial intelligence], big data, video analytics and machine learning in the future. We have a great team dedicated to the success of our customers.”

Wi-Tronix is grateful for the opportunity to work with professionals from all types of rail operations from freight to passenger to light rail.  After 15 years, the Wi-Tronix team continues to focus on delivering technology solutions. 

“We are focused on providing solutions for our customers today, all the while pushing ahead on the path toward autonomous operation,” Jordan said. “The next 15 years will be truly revolutionary in the rail industry, and Wi-Tronix is pleased to be a leader on this journey.”