GE Highlights Top Monitoring & Maintenance Apps of 2010

The past year marked a milestone for mobile app innovation, with a surge in creative applications that reshaped how we interact with technology.

Our favorites included the iPad magazine Eureka from The Times of London, which pushes interactivity to new heights, and Flipboard, a news aggregator that lets users curate publications and share articles effortlessly.

Music enthusiasts were treated by Aweditorium, a multimedia experience exploring bands, videos, and tracks; Elements made the periodic table engaging for all; and Star Walk offered an interactive stargazing guide via the iPhone 4.

GE has also been active in the app arena, from healthymagination's Morsel, helping users curb unhealthy habits, to GE Lighting's Mood Cam, which overlays lighting styles on room photos. CNBC Real‑Time, the only free app delivering real‑time NYSE and NASDAQ quotes, is another example—its professional version extends real‑time data and analytics to over 100 international markets.

Three standout apps—PDS Movement Planner, Transformers, and MyEngines—demonstrate GE’s commitment to industry‑specific mobile solutions for rail, power, and aviation.

PDS Movement Planner: This pilot app for GE rail customers delivers real‑time rail monitoring, offering insights on traffic, scheduling, cargo, geolocation, and train speed. It effectively functions as air‑traffic control for railroads, enabling companies to stay informed on each train in transit.

Transformers: In pilot mode, this colorful app lets GE sales teams and field engineers remotely monitor and diagnose transformers and transformer stations that supply electricity nationwide. Real‑time sensor data improves efficiency and problem‑solving for both GE and its customers.

MyEngines: Designed for GE Aviation clients, the app provides up‑to‑the‑minute status of jet engines in the maintenance or repair cycle. It tracks overhaul progress, facilitates material procurement, monitors critical engine parameters, and supplies engineers with specifications and service bulletin compliance.

“Within our Mobile COE, we bring together technologists from every GE business and division, all focused on advancing our mobile initiatives,” says Murali Narassiman, GE’s Mobile COE Leader.

“A robust, vibrant suite of mobile applications that align with and complement our software ecosystem sets the digital future for GE,” adds James Blomberg, GE’s Director of New Media & Emerging Technology.

On the go: The Movement Planner app is fueled by an advanced software system that analyzes train schedules, traffic control systems and train movements relative to each other and then creates an optimized traffic plan for the trains.

Power tools: The Transformer app for monitoring electrical transformers also comes in an iPad app. As econsultancy.com noted in a recent story, it’s easier for engineers in the field who wear gloves to use the iPad version.

Jet set: The MyEngines app is tied to GE’s software that tracks overhaul progress; allows for urgently needed materials to be researched and ordered; monitors the health of critical engine parameters; and helps engineers make decisions by accessing engine specs and verifying compliance with service bulletins.

* Try out GE’s Patient Shuffle app, the game that lets you see how tough it is to run an busy emergency room