Smart Shoe™ Solutions:
The Smart Way to Brake

Many forward-thinking technologies have gone into the development of our patented Smart Shoe™ Technology

With three levels of mechanical adaptors to filter out any non-radial forces applied to the sensor. These factors provide accurate and reliable measurements while our WiFi and tablet improvements deliver a more seamless and user-friendly experience. Through Smart Shoe™ Technology, we guarantee the sensor is able to adapt easily to any wheel or brake shoe (block) surface.

Wheel Application

Every day, passenger cars convey vast numbers of rail passengers to their destinations. Anyone who has spent a day – or night – on a train will appreciate the importance of a safe, comfortable car. Freight vehicles deliver safely the loads at their destinations. Our solutions play a significant part in delivering that passenger reassurance and comfort as well as freight safe delivery.
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Disc Application

Whether it is an operator for a manufacturer of rail mobility solutions, our Disc application measures the force between the disc and pad.
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Locomotives Application

Whether it is an operator for a freight train with several locomotives in North America, or an intercity train in Europe, or a rail systems manufacturer in India, it will always need to test the locomotive brake force, to pull or push along the train. Locomotives are as diverse as the trains they power. We have decades of experience to offer here, as our systems measure the force applied between the block brake shoe and the locomotive wheel.
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Hand Brake Application

Manufacturers frequently employ and develop customized solutions for specific requirements. The Hand Brake application measures the force applied to the chain system
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High-Speed Applications

High-speed trains can travel at speeds of over 300 km/h. The extremely high demands that this places on the Knorr-Bremse systems in the vehicles must be met without compromising safety. Our High-speed solution measures the force between disc and pad for High-speed trains equipped with Knorr Bremse brakes MODEL RZTM for high-speed trains like Talgo.
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Whether deployed for commercial or passenger railway systems and vehicles

Our Smart Shoe™ Technology is capable of producing repeatable, precise measurements your team can rely on. It's what has earned us a strong reputation among our patrons across the globe.

The patented Smart Shoe™ Technology was developed after years of laboratory and field research by Romell Inc.

Its purpose is to accurately and repeatably test and measure the brake force for such railway vehicles as:
  • freight, passenger cars
  • high speed passenger cars,
  • metro and transit cars
  • locomotives
  • maintenance or construction equipment
The brake force is measured between the brake shoe (block) and the wheel or between the disc and the pad. Romell Inc. first began selling these products in 2001 and now have over 350 customers world-wide.
Over time, the Smart Shoe™ Technology has been improved by implementing WiFi communication between the sensors and the tablet in order to significantly reduce the time and the complexity of test setups.
These design modifications have also greatly increased the test system reliability, robustness and accuracy.
Smart Shoe™ Technology

The brake force is the force applied by the brake shoe (block) against the wheel only in the direction of the center of the wheel and the center of the brake shoe (block)

This is called the radial force.
The first measurement challenge encountered is that when force is applied, the brake shoe moves and rotates making it difficult for the sensor to measure only the force component that is perpendicular to the wheel surface and directed to the wheel center (i.e. the radial force).
The second measurement challenge is that the wheel surface has a conic shape and the brake shoe (block) may have a cylindrical surface. Yet the sensor measuring between these two distinct surfaces must adapt to sit properly on both of them. An additional difficulty is that the wheel and brake shoe being tested are no longer perfectly conic or cylindrical since their surfaces are continuously modified and damaged by friction.
Smart Shoe™ Technology ensures that the sensor is adaptable to all wheel and brake shoe (block) surfaces, isolating the radial force and eliminating any other parasitic force components from the measurement.
An analogous approach is applied for measuring the brake force between disc and pad.
These measurements are made possible through the use of three levels of mechanical adaptors that combine to filter out any non-radial forces that are applied to the sensor. In addition, the sensor is sufficiently narrow to be installed without removing the brake shoe.
The Smart Shoe™ solution also includes the capability to measure hand brake force by inserting a sensor between the chain links.