One Big Circle – pioneering digital inspection for safer railways

One Big Circle (OBC) is a UK rail technology company and the creator of AIVR® (Automated Intelligent Video Review) – a multi-award-winning rail inspection technology that transforms the way the industry monitors infrastructure, improves operational performance, and delivers safer, more reliable services.

Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Bristol with operations in Derby, OBC develops and manufactures AIVR in-house, combining hardware engineering, software development, and deep railway domain expertise within a single team – working closely with customers to develop technology that solves real operational challenges.

OBC delivers an integrated system combining bespoke video, sensor, and laser data capture with cloud infrastructure and advanced AI-powered analytics – all accessible through a smart, easy-to-use online platform that also integrates other data sources. Captured data is time and location-stamped, providing a precise, evidential record of network condition that can be reviewed remotely, annotated using built-in digital tools, and exported for reporting, analysis, and integration with wider asset management workflows. Together, these provide digital inspection capability across every railway discipline, enabling experts to monitor the complete rail environment remotely and safely, and giving infrastructure owners, train operators, and maintenance they need to move from reactive to preventative.

AIVR is deployed across more than 250 train fleets, covering over 95% of the UK mainline rail network, and is trusted by more than 12,000 users. To date, the platform has processed over 5 petabytes of data and is estimated to generate in excess of £50 million in annual savings for the industry – saving over 3 million man hours every year. OBC is a King’s Award for Innovation recipient and a winner of a number of National Rail Awards, recognised for the measurable impact AIVR delivers across the network.

Train-Borne Data Capture

AIVR starts with data capture – and the breadth and flexibility of that capture is what makes the system operational across the full range of railway environments, from passenger and commuter services to high-speed intercity and regional routes, as well as on maintenance and infrastructure monitoring vehicles. AIVR is also compatible with third-party data sources, enabling operators and infrastructure managers to unlock greater insight from data that has already been captured but not yet fully utilised.

Track and Infrastructure Condition Monitoring

AI-powered analysis automatically identifies defects and anomalies without the cost or disruption of dedicated inspection runs — covering railhead defects, broken rail detection, joints and welds, fastenings, switches and crossings, ballast and drainage, and scrap rail.

Overhead Line Monitoring

Remote inspection and condition monitoring of OLE — covering wire geometry, component wear, pantograph interaction, and climate resilience monitoring.

Conductor Rail  Monitoring

Visual and thermal data combined for comprehensive conductor rail health monitoring — covering thermal hotspot detection with automatic alerting, shoe-conductor rail interaction, and ramp alignment verification.

Lineside Structure and Asset Monitoring

Virtual inspection of lineside structures and assets without trackside exposure — covering bridges, retaining walls, platform edges, vegetation encroachment, and troughing conditions.

Signalling Visibility and Compliance Assessment

Signalling visibility assessments — covering sightline verification, clearance monitoring, and signal sighting reporting.

Operations, Safety and Performance

Tools for incident investigation, compliance monitoring, and performance analysis — covering post-incident review, driver training support, dwell analysis, and time and location-stamped evidential data.

A Trusted Partner

OBC works in close partnership with some of the most prominent organisations in UK rail, including Network Rail, Southeastern, South Western Railway, LNER, East Midlands Railway, and Transport for Wales. AIVR has also been deployed internationally across North America, Europe, and Australia, and a strategic partnership with Loram Maintenance of Way further strengthens OBC’s position in the global rail market.

With more than 250 deployments and over 5 petabytes of data from multiple sources processed, AIVR delivers a fundamentally more efficient approach to asset management – faster, more consistent, and significantly less costly than traditional inspection methods, while keeping engineers safer by reducing the need for trackside access.

OBC continues to develop AIVR with engineers in mind, with new and expanding capabilities driving the system forward as the industry moves towards a more data-driven, preventative model of railway management.

Key One Big Circle Products