Lightweight, autonomous shuttle train for short rural routes
Duration and funding: 3 years – 8M€
ECOTRAIN is designed to revitalize or revitalize small rail lines that have been abandoned or are under threat: its light-weight equipment and maintenance options mean that operating and reopening costs can be significantly reduced, while its autonomous nature makes it possible to offer a service based on increased frequency of service and on-demand journeys at zero carbon footprint.
CONTEXT
By offering an autonomous rail shuttle, designed for medium-length lines and based on reduced operational costs, ECOTRAIN aims to support still-operating lines while addressing the gradual and continuous decline in mobility in rural areas by revitalizing small, abandoned, or at-risk railway lines. The project has a vast potential for expansion beyond the national territory and aims to overcome the technological barriers associated with an integrated autonomous shuttle system while ensuring the rapid deployment of the proposed solutions. The consortium, led by recognized players in the railway sector, seeks to develop a groundbreaking system for local services, characterized by its frugality in design and operation.
CHALLENGES
In the context of an autonomous vehicle controlled by a vision-based system, the primary challenge is to anticipate and detect potential risk factors early to prevent collisions. Evaluating the level of threat in a driving scenario is a complex task that involves analyzing numerous parameters. Automating this process presents a significant technological challenge. This research effort centers on the contextual analysis of images to extract the necessary data for accurately and safely assessing the risks faced by the vehicle.
While vision-based live risk assessment has been extensively explored in the road transport domain, it remains a relatively new concept in rail transport. The complexity of implementation in this domain is heightened by factors such as railway standards, limited access to infrastructure, and the specific characteristics of rail vehicles. Therefore, it is crucial to examine the significant advancements made in live risk assessment for autonomous cars and explore how these can be adapted to the railway domain.
RESULTS
Coming Soon