ATO-Cargo – Automatic Train Operation Technologies for Cargo
ATO-Cargo – Automatic Train Operation Technologies for Cargo
The ATO-Cargo project is researching the highly automated operation of goods trains and is developing an ATO technology with human remote access as a fallback level. The project is being tested on the Betuweroute and scientifically supported by the DLR Institute of Transportation Systems.
Advancing technology development is opening up fascinating possibilities for how we might work in the future. Let’s imagine we could look into this future and see what tasks and processes are involved in controlling an automatically controlled freight train route might look like.
ATO-Cargo Trailer - A virtual glimpse at the future of work
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ATO-Cargo Trailer - A virtual glimpse at the future of work
Advancing technology development is opening up fascinating possibilities for how we might work in the future. Let’s imagine we could look into this future and see what tasks and processes are involved in controlling an automatically controlled freight train route might look like.
Credit:
prefrontal cortex
The ATO-Cargo (Automatic Train Operation Technologies for Cargo) project is researching the highly automated operation of freight trains. The German Aerospace Centre (DLR) is working together with DB Cargo AG as coordinator, the Digitalen Schiene Deutschland (DSD) and the Dutch infrastructure company ProRail B.V. on the project, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV). Tests are being carried out on the Betuweroute, which connects the port of Rotterdam with the Ruhr region and is only available for freight trains in the Netherlands.
The aim of ATO-Cargo is to make better use of route capacities and improve transport quality by selecting the optimum speed in each case. The project team aims to improve the competitiveness of rail freight transport compared to road transport and contribute to a shift in transport volumes from road to environmentally friendly rail.
At the remote supervision and control workstation, the human operator keeps an eye on the automated train.
In the project, an ATO unit installed on the locomotive in combination with the ETCS Level 2 train control system underneath takes over train control. In the event of technical deviations or malfunctions (degraded operation), the human takes over tasks such as remote monitoring, diagnosis, remote control or fault clearance from a "remote supervision and control workstation". This means that people retain their role as the central control authority and intervene in the event of operational faults, for example.
The researchers are equipping two prototype locomotives with ATO units and designing a remote supervision and control workstation to be implemented in reality. Once the locomotives have been approved for trial operation, the technical and operational maturity of the ATO technology with human remote access as a fallback level is to be demonstrated under real operating conditions in a one-year test phase on the Betuweroute. This test operation serves the overarching goal of developing a reference concept for the sector-wide European establishment of this automation approach in rail freight transport.
The DLR Institute of Transportation Systems is providing scientific support for the project from a human factors perspective. The focus here is on the user-friendly design of the remote supervision and control workstation for monitoring and remote control of trains. This process of user-oriented design includes determining the requirements of the physical and organisational working environment as well as the human-machine interfaces. Further work by the scientists includes the creation of a design concept for the remote supervision and control workstation, including virtual reality designs, accompanying usability studies integrated into the technical development process and the human factors analysis of the real trial operation.
With increasing automation, automatically controlled trains and routes are also becoming a realistic prospect in goods train operations in order to increase safety and efficiency in rail transport. Operators in a Remote Supervision and Control Centre (RSC) are responsible for monitoring, fault clearance and manual remote control, for which there is as yet no template in the current railway system. In order to better understand the technical and operational processes in this control centre, a Virtual Reality (VR) application was created. Experts and other interested parties can immerse themselves in an immersive 3D environment that offers a realistic insight into the tasks and challenges of an operator. Playing through potential disruptive situations in the VR environment makes it possible to discuss past achievements and future challenges using concrete examples.
VR demonstrator for the Remote Supervision and Control Centre (RSC), Supervision Desk with dynamic route map for operating situation picture incl. train information on locations, operating states, etc.
ATO-Cargo Full Playthrough
Your consent to the storage of data ('cookies') is required for the playback of this video on Youtube.com. You can view and change your current data storage settings at any time under privacy.
ATO-Cargo Full Playthrough
VR demonstrator for the Remote Supervision and Control Centre (RSC), Supervision Desk with dynamic route map for operating situation picture incl. train information on locations, operating states, etc.
Credit:
prefrontal cortex
Project title: ATO-Cargo - Automatic Train Operation Technologies for Cargo
