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We are faced with an escalating climate crisis, and with it, an ever-increasing amount of natural disasters, including flooding. United Barrier Technologies (UBT) founders, Phil DeLaine and Bob MacKnight, have designed an innovative flood protection solution far superior to the most commonly used permanent structures. UBT’s solution addresses the urgent call for adaptive flood protection with their AI-controlled railcar barriers, a mobile alternative to costly levees and floodwalls. With global flooding expected to increase in 2024 and beyond, UBT’s sustainable flood defense couldn’t have come at a more crucial time.
Railcar barrier inventor: Phil DeLaine
Phil’s pathway to this invention started with a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Massachusetts. He worked as an engineer for a major defense contractor and several other companies, which likely laid the foundation for his innovative thought processes. Phil has 7 U.S. patents and started two successful companies before UBT, where he developed and licensed his patented technologies to third parties.
Inspired by the tragic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, he envisioned a superior system to challenge conventional, costly, obtrusive levees and floodwalls. Phil explains, “In 2005, I felt there had to be a better system than a levee and a floodwall to stop flooding. Those solutions just seem weird to me. And, I guess I was driving in my car, and the thought came to me, ‘What if the barrier was a mobile railcar?’ Just like that. ‘What if it was a railcar?’ As soon as the thought hit me, I was obsessed for maybe four or five months with stopping water, stopping flooding with a railcar. And I thought of how to do that with gaskets imposed between them and underneath them. And it was really that thought process that brought us to the invention.”
Phil met Bob MacKnight in 2006. Bob shares, “I was at Oracle as a principal software consultant. We worked together on enterprise software deals and became good friends, and we’ve worked together ever since. And once he shared his vision for the railcar barrier, I took one look at it and said, ‘This is the best thing I’ve ever seen. It’s something that’s actually going to help the world.’”
UBT’s technology innovator: Bob MacKnight
Bob’s background includes the high-profile position at Oracle and also a substantial career as an enterprise architect. He received his B.A. from Yale University and an M.A. and M.S. and has extensive academic experience as well as practical experience in engineering, business, and the environment.
Bob adds, “I worked on military R&D for 15 to 20 years. I got involved with developing software in support of the Trident Submarine Program, which are the nuclear ballistic submarines. I managed a 50-person software organization and a 15-person hardware organization, so I did both hardware and software. That’s really what I am today, a system engineer of mechanical, electrical and software solutions.“
His friendship and collaboration with Phil have proven pivotal and is driven by a shared vision of contributing something meaningful to the world. Bob shares, “I would love to see it deployed in Third World countries where it’s so badly needed even more than in this country.”
Bob adds, “We both had long careers. I can go way back to all the experiences and skills relevant to this project in my career. But we’re at the stage in our careers where we want to give back to the world and build something that will benefit people. And this innovation, the railcar barriers, United Barrier Technology, actually significantly improves the human condition and quality of life.” Phil adds, “I am a very passionate advocate for advanced technologies, especially as they relate to the betterment of our society.”
Collaboration and focus
With their complementary skill sets and like-minded values, the synergy between Phil and Bob forms the foundation of UBT. Their joint efforts in building the company highlight a commitment to innovation, passion and a shared goal of bettering the world. Beyond their immediate goals, Phil and Bob emphasize educating the public and decision-makers about the alternative solutions provided by UBT and challenging the status quo dominated by traditional flood defense methods.
Phil explains, “It’s really important to understand that at the Army Corps, it is their job to stop flooding, period. Right now, the Army Corps is looking at levees and floodwalls. People do not want that. So the Army Corps is actually distracting them by saying, ‘Oh, well, we can improve this with nature. We’ll plant green stuff to help. We will give you some money in some other area to soften the costliness of the levees and floodwall.’”
Phil explains that there is a better solution. “Our solution is the best. When it comes to stopping flooding–that is the core central ingredient here–our railcar barriers are the best solution in every way.”
Company mission and technology assurance
UBT’s technologies are entirely contrary to almost every aspect of current levees and floodwalls. Bob compares UBT to the Army Corp of Engineers technology, “If they open up their toolbox, all they’ve got are hammers and nails. When you open up our toolbox, there’s a powerful nail gun. We’ve got technology that can solve problems you haven’t envisioned, using technology to solve them.”
Notably, UBT’s solution is also backed by multiple patents that highlight its uniqueness and reliability. Phil adds, “Our flood protection solution also carries no technological risk. Our railcar design uses off-the-shelf components readily available today, so we don’t need extensive research and development. We aren’t like SpaceX, where uncertainties surround the success of new technologies. We have done the analysis; our technology is low-risk and reliable.”
Also, UBT’s AI-controlled railcar barriers are about reliability, mobility, adaptability and affordability. UBT’s software ensures precise deployment and assembly of the railcars into temporary steel walls which mitigates the risk of failure, unlike the failure rate of floodwalls and levees. Not only do they protect people’s property from flooding, but they provide a better quality of life, including: the assurances that people and property are safe in these uncertain times; they aren’t subjected to unsightly walls that block views of nature; and their taxes aren’t increased substantially because of the abhorrent costs of building and maintaining levees and floodwalls.
To sum it up succinctly, Phil explains, “Levees and floodwalls stop water, but are permanent, expensive and fail. Our solution, our railcar barriers stop water, are mobile, are much cheaper and are highly resilient.” What else is there to say?
To find out more about United Barriers Technologies AI-controlled railcars, click here.
