GERMANY: An obstacle detection system is to be tested in regular daily service on the Berlin S-Bahn under various weather and operating conditions.
Siemens Mobility has supplied the hardware, software and digital map, including high-performance LiDAR sensors for close and long-range object detection and an infrared camera. Infrastructure manager DB InfraGo and the national railway’s Digitale Schiene Deutschland partnership have provided newly developed centimetre-level 3D digital mapping.
The system continually compares the position of a train with the location of detected objects using the digital map, and makes decisions on whether to warn the driver or brake.
Selected data showing detected obstacles will be made available in anonymised form for research purposes, such as training AI models or for system validation.
The test phase will run for a year, to cover all seasons, with the data to be used to refine the system and optimise the positioning of the sensors.
The technology could then be used as an emergency braking assistance system to support train drivers.
‘Intelligent trains that relieve their drivers of routine tasks and support them in their work are the future of digitalised rail transport’, said Albrecht Neumann, CEO for Rolling Stock at Siemens Mobility, on July 12.
He envisages that in the future trains ‘will be able to automatically set themselves up and shut down, ensure energy-optimised operation, react quickly and safely to obstacles on the track, and shunt fully automatically on the depot grounds.’
