CTA showcases pilots to detect track intrusions, add e-paper bus signs and reduce smoke on trains

CTA's planning and innovation team outlined several technology pilots intended to improve safety and accessibility across the transit system.

Emily Drexler, senior manager for customer insights and strategy, and Eric Jensen, project manager for operations innovation, told the ADA Advisory Committee that Innovation Studio pilots launched in 2023 are being evaluated for both rider experience and operational resilience. "Innovation Studio is managed by the innovation project management office," Drexler said, describing a process of problem statements, vendor selection, pilots and, where appropriate, board approval or a professional services agreement.

Drexler and Jensen highlighted three ongoing pilot areas. For right-of-way intrusion detection, CTA ran two pilots: one with STV and Durk using an AI edge device that monitors station cameras (piloted at Ashland on the Green/Pink line and at Cicero on the Blue line) and a second using fiber-optic vibration sensing from a company identified in the presentation as Sensic. Jensen said the camera-based approach feeds a dashboard with a short video clip to let staff confirm intrusions; the fiber approach can theoretically monitor long stretches of track from a single device. To build training datasets, staff ran controlled tests, including using a crash-test dummy to calibrate models for real-world detection.

Jensen identified the evaluation metrics CTA will use: intrusion-detection accuracy, response time, system uptime and false-positive rate. He noted cellular connectivity during tests added 20'30 seconds of latency and that false positives must be suppressed so controllers do not miss real events. As Jensen summarized, the goal is to "make sure the system is picking up right-of-way intrusions so that we can respond quickly and avoid a catastrophic event." The teams said they will publish pilot results on CTA's website as pilots conclude.

On passenger information at bus stops, the agency is piloting about 20 e-paper signs produced by Global Display Solutions (GDS) and Papercast. The small, solar- or battery-powered displays show real-time arrivals, include a text-to-speech button with braille, and link to a rider survey via QR code. Drexler said preliminary survey responses are strongly positive: the presentation reported that 95% of respondents liked the signs and 93% called them a "must-have." CTA staff said they are tracking device uptime, vandalism incidents and solar performance across climates to inform selection and installation requirements.

For onboard air quality and customer comfort, CTA is piloting Sandbox Carbon's activated-carbon filters and VOC sensors on eight 5000-series rail cars (the presentation said the red line is the likeliest initial deployment). The filters are intended to reduce lingering smoke odors and were designed to be swapped on a schedule consistent with maintenance cycles. During the briefing, CTA staff said the target change interval is about 60 days while simulation testing suggested filters might last roughly 80 days; the agency will measure odor-reduction time, customer perception and any effects on HVAC airflow.

CTA emphasized that none of the pilots are final deployments. The Innovation Studio team said pilot results will guide whether technologies are refined, scaled or presented to the CTA Board for formal approval. The programs involve multiple stakeholders across safety, operations, technology and planning.

What happens next: CTA will continue collecting performance data (detection accuracy and latency for intrusion pilots, uptime and rider feedback for e-paper signs, and odor and sensor data for the filter pilot) and expects to post results publicly and brief the Board if pilots show operational value.