Automated operations are a key function in expanding rail capacity and enhancing rail performance. Siemens Transport, in partnership with S-Bahn Berlin, has for the first time installed and will test an obstacle detection system - a key technical component for fully autonomous driving Mild Steel Coil in daily operations.
The goal of the project is to fully evaluate the performance of the new obstacle detection system in daily operation under a variety of weather and line conditions. The test data will be used to Carbon Steel Coil further refine the system and optimize the positioning of the detection sensors. The system will record background data during the project, and neither train drivers nor passengers will notice its operation. In the future, obstacle detection systems could help drivers avoid accidents, thereby stabilizing daily S-Bahn operations and improving punctuality. The system is expected to become a key technology for realizing digital and fully automated railway operation in the future.
Albrecht Neumann, CEO of Rolling Stock at Siemens Transport, said: "Smart trains reduce the daily workload of drivers and support them in their work, which is the future of digital rail transport. The trains will be able to start and close automatically, ensuring they operate in an energy-efficient manner, react quickly and safely to obstacles on the track, and shunt fully automatically on the garage floor. We look forward to working with our partners to bring our innovative obstacle detection technology to practical use in Germany's largest S-Bahn network."
Testing of the technology will be conducted by Siemens Transport (responsible for installation supervision, sensors, hardware, software and digital maps), Berlin S-Bahn Suburban railway (providing trains, installation, operation) and Digitale Schiene Deutschland/DB InfraGo (Responsible for digital maps, open data platform) The results of the tests will be evaluated together with the public transport authority VBB.
On the technical side, the Hot Rolled Steel Coil used in the project will include high-performance LiDAR and infrared cameras for the detection of objects at close and distance. The algorithm used to evaluate sensor data was developed specifically for the railway sector in Siemens' research project "Berlin Digital Rail Operations -BerDiBa" in Adleshof, Berlin, and has been optimized several times. The system uses a digital map to constantly compare the location of the train to the location of the detected object. Based on these ongoing calculations, a decision is made whether to warn the driver or brake the train. For the first time, DB InfraGo's newly developed map is used for this purpose, depicting reality in 3D with centimeter-level accuracy.