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Germany Launches World's First Autonomous Tram (theguardian.com)
An anonymous reader shares a report: The world's first autonomous tram was launched in unspectacular style in the city of Potsdam, west of Berlin, on Friday. The Guardian was the first English-language newspaper to be offered a ride on the vehicle developed by a team of 50 computer scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and physicists at the German engineering company Siemens. Fitted with multiple radar, lidar (light from a laser), and camera sensors, forming digital eyes that film the tram and its surroundings during every journey, the tram reacts to trackside signals and can respond to hazards faster than a human. Its makers say it is some way from being commercially viable but they do expect it to contribute to the wider field of driverless technology, and have called it an important milestone on the way to autonomous driving. Travelling in real traffic from the tram depot of Potsdam's transport company ViP, the articulated Combino model tram whirred its way through a high-rise housing settlement in the south-eastern district of Stern on Friday, contending with bikes, prams and cars which sometimes haphazardly crossed its path during the 3.7-mile (6km) route.
What about Disney's famous peoplemover experiment?
Or for that matter the automated inter-terminal trams found in Denver, San Francisco, Dallas, or dozens of other major airports all around the world?
All those systems are automated and remote monitored and extremely high reliability while being very highly utilized and relied upon. Imagine the chaos if one of those automated rail systems went down at a busy time. So they have to have damn near five-nines availability and they seem to.
I get the feeling that you are not a Train Operator/Engineer, neither am I. However I expect a full scale version of such a job is much more complex, then your Hobby train set (where if the train derailed, you just pick it up and put it back on the track). Also many of these other sources are rather closed track systems, not dealing with multiple I/O, complex weather and track conditions.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
Except that it's not a train with exclusive use of the tracks, it's a tram
"contending with bikes, prams and cars which sometimes haphazardly crossed its path"
Most (all?) inter-terminal airport trams I've seen don't have anything else that can occupy their tracks.
First line: "“This is the type of situation I face every day,” said the tram driver, who has 25 years of experience under his belt, as he rang his bell."
Why do all these "autonomous" vehicles always have a driver or two? Amazing. I am sure it is right around the corner though. Tesla has a breakthrough AI chip which will fix it.
Yeah, we only have to look at the clean diesel technology coming out of Germany for an example of how great their tech is.
I have operated a vehicle like this, a light rail vehicle operating in traffic. It does seem to be a good use case for autonomy. While the requirements would be less than a car, it's definitely more than one operating in a loop on a closed course like at an airport. There are obstacles to contend with. While the track may be separate, there is car traffic to watch out for as well as pedestrians who step out in front of you. Unlike a car, you don't have the option to swerve around an obstacle but are limited to speeding up, slowing down or stopping. For the system to react to vehicles or people in its path seems straightforward enough, but I would think that discerning intent would be harder. A person just outside your path that's looking at you, waiting for you to pass is different than a person at the same spot with their back to you wearing headphones. I also wonder how long before these types of vehicles are targets of mischief. Would a traffic cone or cardboard box plopped on the track bring the train to a halt? Could (or should) a remote operator override the system and drive over it? I can't see them opening the doors to have a passenger move it out of the way. A similar thing in a street might be dealt with by a human driver, but on a dedicated track, the obstacle could be there a while.
>we only have to look at the clean diesel technology coming out of Germany for an example of how great their tech is
The technology of using Urea to neutralize NOx works perfectly (and will soon be added to Direct-injection gasoline cars too). For manufacturers like Chevrolet, Mercedes, BMW, Mack, Caterpillar, et cetera the neutralization works so well, NOx levels are essentially zero.
The only time it does Not work is when a company like Volkswagen decides "let's not install it, so we can save money." Obviously the tech can not work if it has never been installed!
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
If you RTFA they give an example where a baby carriage is pushed in front of the train, and it stops. In another example two teens walk in front of the train, and it slows down just enough to let them pass, and then resumes normal speed.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
These things on tracks are called trams everywhere in Europe. And I've never heard the word tram used to refer to anything other than a tracked vehicle that to some degree shares the road with other traffic.
Making them autonomous is a good thing: my wife got rear-ended by a tram because the driver was dicking around on his cell phone, and the results were pretty bad: an extensive hospital stay & totaled car (she didn't get a dime from the f*ckers either). A self driving tram or one with anti collision might have prevented that accident.
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
in larger public transport (buses, trams, trains) the cost of the drivers wages is not that significant.
A bus costs about $200k and has a service life of about 12 years. An urban bus driver makes about $40k, and they usually run in two shifts, so that is $80k. Add in benefits and overhead, and weekend shifts, and the payroll cost is $150k annually to keep one bus operating. Over the 12 year life of the bus, that is $1.8M.
For buses, the cost of the driver far exceeds the cost of either the bus or the fuel.
What's a pram??
It's short for perambulator, which is British for baby carriage.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
The only time it does Not work is when a company like Volkswagen decides "let's not install it, so we can save money." Obviously the tech can not work if it has never been installed!
When you say "a company like Volkswagen", you do mean "a German automaker", right?
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
And all those airport people mover have pedestrian level crossings, traffic lights, heavy trucks doing U-turns on their tracks, obstacles lying around in their way, trees falling down in heavy weather, cars piling up on their tracks because they share the lane with them etc.pp. Do you know what happens if you drop something on the autonomous track in SFO or LAX? The whole system including all carts and stations shuts down until the obstacle is removed. Do you want that in a tram system serving a whole town?
The U.S. EPA went and measured the other diesel cars (re-tested them). Mercedes, BMW, Chevrolet all passed with flying colors, since they actually had the Urea/NOx neutralization system installed. They continue to be sold, since they are legally compliant.
Ditto over-the-road truck makers who use the same tech to keep freight trucks clean..... all passed EPA standards.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall