WSDMM, part of KB Signaling’s Wayside Intelligence product line, is described as “the standard for wayside-based analytics edge devices,” and features “a rugged design, American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA) and European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) compliance, and exceptional reliability.”
With the new Wayside Intelligence WSDMM Certified Developer Program, “third parties commit to developing value-added applications that address customer problems, following KB Signaling guidelines,” the company reported on Jan. 28. KB Signaling noted that it “ensures and certifies that the apps are compatible with the rest of the WSDMM solution by including them in the KB Signaling Wayside Intelligence automated test pipeline.” These automated tests, it added, “ensure compliance with KB Signaling’s software development guidelines, ensuring apps work seamlessly with other WSDMM-based solutions.”
All apps developed under this program, KB Signaling said, are compatible with the Wayside Intelligence Update Manager for easy updates alongside KB Signaling apps; any update/upgrade can be installed with other KB Signaling app updates/upgrades using the same tool.
As part of its Certified Developer Program, KB Signaling said it provides sales and distribution services and Tier 1 product technical support. The company is also available to railroads that want to use its testing and distribution infrastructure.
KB Signaling is one of three primary stand-alone North American rail business groups of Munich, Germany-based Knorr-Bremse, which on Aug. 30, 2024, closed on its acquisition of Alstom Signaling North America’s complete conventional signaling product portfolio, plus its sales, service, and manufacturing operations, which became KB Signaling. KB Signaling now develops and supplies end-to-end wayside and onboard conventional signaling Control, Command, and Signaling (CCS) platforms and solutions. Knorr-Bremse’s two other rail business groups are Westminster, Md.-based Knorr Brake Company and Watertown, N.Y.-based New York Air Brake.
“Delivering value is at the core of all we do, and establishing this [new] program of collaboration with developers is evidence of that commitment,” said Jeff Baker, Managing Director for KB Signaling. “Our goal is to quickly expand and grow the WSDMM software application ecosystem, further increasing the utility and benefits of the WSDMM hardware platform through the development of innovative, flexible solutions from developers located around the world.”
Introduced in 2019, the WSDMM platform is said to be “in operation in the thousands” across North America. Through the new WSDMM Certified Developer Program, KB Signaling expects to release two to three apps per year, in addition to the one to two apps the company itself plans to develop annually.
“In the rapidly evolving world of rail signaling, analytics edge solutions are only as effective as the applications they support,” said Giampaolo Orrigo, Senior Product Manager for Wayside Intelligence at KB Signaling. “The value of the developer program to our customers is they can buy apps certified by KB Signaling to run on our platform and deliver the performance they expect. The number and type of applications coming out of the program can be large—there are many problems causing customers pain that the WSDMM platform can solve if it runs the right app.”
A key part of the program is the automated test pipeline, according to the company. “Our process will be to pick the certified developer software, put it in our nightly build and test pipeline, and make sure it works in coordination with all our apps and our infrastructure,” Orrigo said. “That is a service we give both to our customers and developer partners to ensure each app runs seamlessly with the WSDMM platform.”
