SmarTram:
Basic research into autonomous tram operation in Chemnitz
Since October 2022, we have been participating in the SmartTram research project, which is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection. Under the project management of Hörmann Vehicle Engineering GmbH, the project partners, which also include Industrieanlagen-Betriebsgesellschaft mbH (IABG) and FusionSystems GmbH, are developing solutions for an autonomous driving tram.
The project addresses the following key questions:
• What must a tram ‘be able to do’ in order to fulfil the complex requirements during the journey autonomously, taking into account safety and traffic-related criteria?
• What information does the tram need for this and how can this be transferred to the vehicle?
• Which disruptions - from weather-related visual obstacles to the assessment of unexpected events - can occur during everyday driving and need to be recorded?
In order to answer these questions and collect the necessary data, the Tatra T3D-M 525 tram drive vehicle was equipped as a test vehicle. Based on the findings gathered, it should be possible at the end of the research project to drive the test vehicle autonomously on a specially selected short section of the CVAG route under the supervision of accompanying drivers.
