The 13th World Congress on Railway Research (WCRR – Homepage (wcrr2022.co.uk) took place on 6-10 June 2022 at the International Convention Centre of Birghimgam, UK. At this biennial flagship international congress on railway research the results of two innovative projects RAILGAP and VOLIERA have been presented by RFI. Radiolabs is partner of both projects led respectively by RFI and Hitachi Rail.
RAILGAP (Railway Ground truth and digital map | EU Agency for the Space Programme (europa.eu) is an essential step towards green, safe, smart mobility on rails. It focuses on developing innovative High Accuracy, High Precision Ground Truth and Digital Maps, essential elements of the EGNSS based train positioning system for the ERTMS. A new methodology has been introduced to collecting massive amounts of data with commercial trains to characterizing even the most challenging railway environments by big data processing means.
VOLIERA (ESA’s NAVISP Programmes) is the most advanced project to exploit multi-sensors technologies combining GNSS, IMU Camera and LIDAR components to get an unprecedented step forward on relative and absolute positioning and odometry for the ERTMS. Field tests have confirmed the maturity of these technologies that are being developed massively for the automotive applications.
RAILGAP and VOLIERA represent a concrete example of a multidisciplinary partnership between research, industry and the railway operator to explore new frontiers for the benefit of the evolution of ERTMS with the support of the European and Italian Space Agencies. Radiolabs confirms its role as an innovator by leveraging the synergies between automotive and rail applications.
