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RAILWAY DIGITALISATION USING DRONES

Project description

New drone technology to keep trains on track

Drone technology boasts a wide range of applications in several fields, such as the monitoring and design digitalisation of railways. The EU-funded RADIUS project will develop a drone-based technology to monitor the physical situation and electronic operability of non-safety critical and safety critical railway signalling assets and to perform specific maintenance operations. The project will identify the best drone technologies to be used in the railway sector, design the drone solution characteristics, integrate sensor and data collection, and adapt/redesign the railway signalling assets to drone characteristics. RADIUS will ensure safe communication between the drone and peripheral post and secure data exchange, allow contactless diagnostics, and focus on the interaction with current intelligent asset management systems and traffic management systems.

Objective

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.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Keywords

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

IA - Innovation action

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-SPACE-EGNSS-2019-2020

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Coordinator

HITACHI RAIL STS SPA
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 636 650,00
Address
VIA ARGINE 425
16151 NAPOLI
Italy

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Region
Sud Campania Napoli
Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 909 500,00

Participants (6)

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