Smart cities and future mobility Priority Research Area POB4

We cordially invite you to the lecture doc. Ing. Michał Matowicki entitled "Automation and autonomy in rail transport - technologies, implementations, safety and development prospects", which will take place on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, at 12:00 (in room 1023 of the Faculty of Transport and Aerospace Engineering and online - Zoom communicator).

The lecture comprehensively presents the subject of digitalization and automation in railway transport systems, with particular emphasis on autonomous train driving. Key issues related to the digital architecture of rail systems will be discussed, including communication technologies, data structures and interfaces necessary to achieve European interoperability. Levels of automation (GoA – Grade of Automation) will be presented, along with a detailed explanation of their differences, technical and organizational requirements, as well as practical examples of implementation from the GoA1 level (supervised manual driving mode) to completely autonomous GoA4 systems.

An important part of the lecture will be devoted to advanced rail traffic control and driving security systems, such as CBTC, ETCS and ATO. Their principles of operation, the importance of autonomous train operation and issues related to the standardisation and certification of these systems in the context of European regulations will be discussed.

The lecture will also introduce sensor technologies used in autonomous rail vehicles, including various types of sensors, data processing methods, algorithms for their integration and the importance of diagnostics in maintaining the reliability of railway systems. Functional and safety requirements in autonomous rail transport systems will also be an important issue, with particular emphasis on risk management and RAMS (Reliability, Availability, Maintainability, Safety) analyses.

The key aspects of the migration of infrastructure and vehicles from conventional to automatic operation will also be presented, along with a description of practical integration steps and the economic determinants of this process. In the context of rail transport automation, the lecture will also take into account issues related to the role of the human factor, changes in the competence of railway staff and new requirements in the field of training and education.

A modern concept of the functioning of railway dispatching stations will also be presented, indicating the changing roles, operational tasks and the need to integrate real-time data in autonomous operation. In addition, the processes of testing, validation and certification of autonomous railway technologies will be discussed based on the experience of pilot projects in Europe.

At the end of the lecture, future development trends, planned technological innovations and the main research and strategic challenges facing the European rail transport sector in the area of automation and autonomy will be discussed.

Login details for the meeting:

Join Zoom Meeting
https://polsl-pl.zoom.us/j/93175680817?pwd=AjEnbOUCjDjdPQDWu7bI8XNk5qvmGz.1

Meeting ID: 931 7568 0817
Passcode: 040254

Organizers:

Dr hab. inż. Jakub Młyńczak, prof. PŚ, Coordinator of the POB4.6 sub-area - Modeling, control and automation of future processes and mobility systems.

Dr hab inż. Piotr Krauze, Coordinator of the POB4.6 sub-area - Modeling, control and automation of future mobility processes and systems.