RAILWAY DIGITALISATION USING DRONES

ended

The objective of the RADIUS proposal is to develop a drone – based technology to: (1) Monitor the physical status and electronic functionality of both non safety – critical and safety - critical railway signalling assets (2) Execute specific maintenance activities. RADIUS will focus on: (1) The identification of the best drone technology to be used in the railway sector, considering mainly the signalling assets to be monitored, the characteristics of the lines, the maintenance actions to be implemented and the distances to be covered (2) The design a/o the utilization of drone solution and related payloads capabilities to integrate: a. Sensors, data collection and processing capabilities to allow the monitoring of signalling assets b. Wireless technology to be used to provide a secure communication channel between the drone and the peripheral device, and to allow contactless diagnostic and SW maintenance c. Use of EGNSS solutions for navigation and positioning, such as GALILEO and EGNOS (SBAS), enabling improved drone flight control and safe movements in the complex railways operational scenario d. The most secure data transmission solution to guarantee reliable and secure data exchanges, and embedded data analytics to perform assets monitoring, maintenance prediction analysis, and repairing actions avoiding railway track possession (3) The adaptation a/o redesign of the railway signalling assets to become drone – friendly for the maintenance activities, including the design of a docking station (4) The interaction with existing Intelligent Asset Management Systems (5) The interaction with current Traffic Management Systems, to improve the safe movements of drones within the railway (6) The planning of drone mission strategies in compliance with applicable regulations and with the complexity of the railway environment to fly Beyond Visual Line Of Sight (7) The practical demonstration of a proof of concept (TRL 6) system in a railway relevant environment.