Patent ID: 8727228

Claim:
A railroad tie assembly for data acquisition, processing and transmission, comprising: a natural fiber core; an encasement about said natural fiber core, said encasement being substantially impervious to degradation from ambient conditions; and said encasement comprising a sleeve having an interior with a cross section substantially congruent with a cross section of said natural fiber core, and a pair of end caps, one on each of said sleeve, at least one said end cap having a receptacle for maintaining therein a processor chip, a transmitter connected to said processor chip for transmitting data from said processor chip, a power source connected to said transmitter, and a charger connected to said power source, and wherein a photovoltaic device is maintained by said at least one said end cap, said photovoltaic device being interconnected with said charger, and said at least one said end cap has a face receiving and maintaining said photovoltaic device at an angle of 30°-60° with a longitudinal axis of said railroad tie.