Future Maintenance Technologies (FMT) has successfully deployed its flagship robotic system, the Automated Rail Infrastructure Inspection System (ARIIS), on the Dubai Metro Green and Red Lines, operated by Keolis MHI under the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) Dubai.
This deployment marks a major milestone in the global evolution of autonomous rail inspection. ARIIS is delivering measurable improvements in speed, safety, accuracy, and operational efficiency across one of the world’s most advanced metro systems.
Keolis MHI operates the Dubai Metro Green and Red Lines under contract to the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) Dubai to manage a network of 103.8 km of dual track and 56 stations. This is one of the world’s longest fully automated metro systems. A full inspection cycle using traditional manual walking methods requires over 2,400 man-hours, placing heavy demands on maintenance teams and limiting how often the network can be assessed. Manual inspections are also not able to deliver the data consistency or frequency needed for predictive maintenance. As ridership and operational demands grow, Keolis MHI and RTA Dubai needed to inspect the full network more often, more accurately, and with fewer staff on the track.
ARIIS (Automated Rail Infrastructure Inspection System) is FMT’s AI-powered robotic platform for rail infrastructure inspection. It uses proprietary sensor systems to autonomously inspect track and rail assets, capturing repeatable, structured condition data at frequencies manual inspection cannot match. FMT deployed ARIIS across the Dubai Metro Green and Red Lines, validating the system against the specific operational conditions of the network before going live.
ARIIS reduced manual inspections by up to 70% and cut full-network inspection time by 75% from over 2,400 man-hours down to approximately 700. Infrastructure condition assessment accuracy improved by 40%, cutting unnecessary interventions. FMT estimates that data-driven scheduling enabled by ARIIS could reduce lifecycle maintenance costs by up to 25% over the contract term.
Rail operators globally are under pressure to keep ageing infrastructure safe with fewer skilled maintenance technicians and tighter budgets. The ARIIS deployment on Dubai Metro is the first commercial-scale autonomous rail inspection system in the Middle East — and it shows the technology working at full operational scale on a live metro network. The launch was covered in 33 news outlets globally, including the Khaleej Times, Arabian Business, Railway Technology, and the Times of India.
ARIIS leverages AI-powered analysis and proprietary sensor systems to deliver accurate, repeatable and reliable inspections for track and infrastructure condition. Since its deployment:
These outcomes support a shift toward predictive, data-driven maintenance, helping operators make more informed decisions and extend infrastructure life.
The launch of ARIIS in Dubai has received widespread coverage amongst 33 news articles including:
These stories have spotlighted FMT’s role in advancing the future of rail infrastructure through applied robotics and smart inspection systems.
ARIIS (Automated Rail Infrastructure Inspection System) is FMT’s AI-powered robotic platform for rail infrastructure inspection. It autonomously inspects track and rail assets using proprietary sensor systems, delivering structured condition data without requiring manual walking inspections.
On the Dubai Metro, ARIIS reduced full-network inspection time by 75% from over 2,400 man-hours to approximately 700. Manual inspections were cut by up to 70%.
ARIIS is deployed commercially on the Dubai Metro (UAE) and Copenhagen Metro (Europe), with further global deployments underway.
ARIIS captures repeatable, structured condition data across the full network at frequencies manual inspection cannot match. This data feeds into the operator’s maintenance planning system, allowing interventions to be scheduled based on actual asset condition rather than fixed time intervals.
FMT's solutions are in operations at Melbourne Metro, Dubai Metro, Copenhagen Metro, Etihad Rail, among others. The Pakenham deployment with Downer RTS represents FMT's application of RFD technology to an Australian rail maintenance depot.
Future Maintenance Technologies (FMT) is an Australian AI robotics company founded in 2021, headquartered in Brisbane. FMT couples autonomous inspection robots with powerful AI software platforms for the global rail and aviation maintenance industry. The company's technology replaces manual inspection processes with autonomous robots, reducing costs, improving safety, and generating premium-quality data for predictive maintenance. FMT operates a robotics-as-a-service model and has worked with multiple Tier 1 organisations including Downer, Queensland Rail and Rio Tinto in Australia. Globally, FMT has worked with Keolis MHI (Dubai), Metro A/S (Copenhagen), Etihad Rail (Abu Dhabi), as well as Deutsche Bahn and Lufthansa (Germany). FMT completed its Series A funding round led by Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) and Brighter Super.
