smart trams arrive in Florence
In the city symbol of the Renaissance, the renaissance of public transport. As bold as it is, it is a parallel that arises spontaneously in the face of ELASTIC project recently presented in Florence. This is an ambitious initiative in the field of sustainable mobility, carried out by a public-private consortium of European companies and universities, led by Thales Italia, together with the Metropolitan city of Florence and GEST, the company that manages the tramway system of Florence. Subjects who made it possible to carry out the first autonomous driving experiment on one of the three city tram lines.
ELASTIC: smart urban mobility
The ELASTIC project is funded with i European piano funds Horizon 2020 to support European technological development. The intent is to implement integrated solutions in the real scenario, which sees the daily interaction between trams, pedestrians, cars and bicycles, with the aim of improving the safety of tram circulation and making Florence an increasingly safe city thanks to all digital technologies. The European Commission has therefore selected Thales Italia to take care of the overall development of the project and coordinate other 7 partners.
Two innovative applications
The company’s contribution, in terms of technological solutions, includes the creation of a new software architecture which, thanks to theArtificial intelligence allow the tram to locate itself autonomously. At the T1 line of the Florence Tramway operated by GEST, Thales has two applications whose operational results can be exploited to implement mobility in many other urban centers.
In particular, the autonomous localization of the tram (NGAP – Autonomous positioning of the new generation), is a vehicle tracking system which, by exploiting sensors installed on board, thanks to mathematical algorithms, it determines the position of the tram on the rails with an accuracy of less than one meter. This system, Thales points out, is much more advanced and less expensive than track installation sensors.
Then there is another system which, by supporting the driver in obstacle detection (ADAS – Advanced driver assistance system) through gods sensors (cameras, radar and Lidar)it is able to detect objects that can enter into its dangers for the vehicle and put at risk the safety of the vehicle, passengers, pedestrians and cars, even in unfavorable environmental conditions for the human eye.
Towards predictive maintenance
As for GEST’s contribution, thanks to the installation of particular laser scanners, the company will be able to carry out predictive maintenance of the lines and to constantly maintain the state of wear of the tracks, in order to improve both the organization and the timing of maintenance. avoiding the costs and inconvenience due to a possible stop of the vehicle.
Furthermore, further laser sensors installed on public transport will also allow the optimization of energy consumption. A result that will pass from the identification of a “typical” tram ride, with the consequent reduction of environmental pollution.
The Metropolitan City of Florence, on the other hand, contributed with the development of a system that makes it possible to analyze in real time the interactions between the various transport networks in order to regulate local traffic and intervene in the event of critical situations.
The words of the mayor of Florence
“Through the ELASTIC project – declared the mayor of Florence, Dario Nardella, in his greeting – the Metropolitan City of Florence intends to experiment cutting-edge solutions in the field of intelligent transport systems to allow all the municipalities of the territory to grasp the benefits expected from intelligent mobility. In this way we prepare the way for connected and autonomous-driving vehicles, which in the near future will be protagonists of urban and extra-urban mobility, public and private ”.