Experts from Łukasiewicz – Poznań Institute of Technology in cooperation with the Municipal Transport Company in Poznań are working on the development of an autonomous streetcar control system. The first tests at the streetcar depot in Poznan’s Franowo will begin next year.
The depot is the initial stage. If the tests are successful, the autonomous streetcar will in the future hit the streets of Poznań. The first part of the work will include an analysis of logistical processes at the depot. Researchers from Łukasiewicz – PIT will conduct simulations in a virtual environment. They will focus on modeling real-world data in terms of infrastructure and activities performed when operating streetcars at the depot.
The autonomous vehicle will recognize signals intended for streetcars, maintain a certain speed, stop at designated places, and – most importantly – perform correctly in all situations.
The streetcar will initially be used at the Franowo depot, which is one of the most modern depots in the country. MPK Poznań was the first carrier in Poland to use the DMS system, or automatic depot management system, which supports the management of the work of operators and technical support staff. The system identifies vehicles, imports their data, ranks them according to designated criteria, determines routes in the depot and parking spaces.
The depot is just the beginning; the project is a multi-year vision, that is expected to culminate with an introduction of the autonomous streetcar to the streets of Poznań.
Automatically controlled rail vehicles run in many cities, serving mainly subway lines and those leading to airports. The world’s first autonomous streetcar was tested in real traffic in Potsdam in 2018. It is also part of a research project to develop an autonomous streetcar depot in that city.
The “Autonomous Transport” project is being carried out by a consortium of five institutes of the Łukasiewicz Research Network (Łukasiewicz – PIMOT, Łukasiewicz – PIAP, Łukasiewicz – ILOT, Łukasiewicz – IEL, Łukasiewicz – PIT) and is financed by the Łukasiewicz Center under a targeted grant. The letter of intent for the project was signed on September 16.
