Russian Railways launched the first unmanned Lastochka at the MCC. Anyone can ride it

2024: Russian Railways launched the first unmanned Lastochka at the MCC. Anyone can ride it

On August 28, 2024 RUSSIAN RAILWAY , they announced the launch of the first ever railway transport Russia unmanned electric train. Specially equipped "Swallow" will carry passengers along the Moscow Central Ring (MCC).

It is said that Autopilot fully takes over all operations to manage the composition. The neural network independently assesses the situation, makes decisions and performs the necessary actions. At the same time, the driver is still in the cabin for control, as well as opening and closing doors during boarding and disembarking passengers. In addition, he can take control at any time. This ensures double security control.

source = RZD

The implemented autopilot system according to the international classification corresponds to the third of four possible levels of automation. It implies the presence of a person in the locomotive cabin, but the train moves without his participation, using technical vision. When creating autopilot, all possible nuances were taken into account to ensure maximum passenger safety. In particular, dozens of different scenarios of emergency situations have been created. Moreover, the autopilot and the smart vision system react to events earlier than the driver.

The platform is built entirely on Russian solutions, some of which are implemented for the first time in international practice. They are created in collaboration between industry institutes, leading universities and manufacturers. One of the first passengers of the unmanned Lastochka was Oleg Belozerov, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Russian Railways. By the end of 2024, Russian Railways plans to complete tests of onboard systems and technical vision according to the fourth, highest, level of automation: such a train will be able to move without a driver in the cab.^[1]

2021

Unmanned "Swallows" will be launched in 2023

Unmanned Swallows will be launched in 2023. This became known on November 12, 2021, according to Pavel Popov, Deputy General Director of NIIAS JSC, Technical Manager of Unmanned Trains Projects.

The level of GoA4 automation on the Lastochka trains allows you to operate without personnel.

Train management will be carried out from the remote control center, where train operators will monitor trains and make decisions in case of unforeseen situations.

The system will also be able to recognize obstacles at a distance of up to 600^[2] in^[3].

15.7 million rubles will be spent by Russian Railways on the introduction of a system for analyzing passenger behavior

With the help of the software and hardware complex, Russian Railways plans to identify rowdy at the MCC. PAC, using artificial intelligence, will identify Lastochek passengers with signs of "asocial behavior," data on this will be received by the unified dispatch center of Russian Railways. This became known on October 21, 2021.

The Research and Design Institute of Informatization, Automation and Communications in Railway Transport (NIIAS) announced a competition for the development of PAC based on artificial intelligence. The cost of work is 15.7 million rubles. The winner will be known until the end of October.

PAC will automatical recognize signs of deviant behavior of passengers based on the processing and analysis of video images using machine learning technology from video surveillance cameras, as well as acoustic (speech) information using machine vision and artificial intelligence technologies. The technical documentation lists several signs of non-standard passenger behavior: screams; manifestation of aggression (tone of voice and manner of speech will be analyzed); explosions and other loud sounds, non-standard for the noise situation inside the car.

The need to create a software and hardware complex in the tender documentation is explained by the requirements for ensuring the safety of passengers in conditions of fully automatic unmanned traffic at the MCC. Russian Railways expects to launch unmanned "Swallows" at the MCC in 2024. By this time, all Swallows lineups should become unmanned. Certification of these electric trains is scheduled for 2022^[4].

2019

Russian Railways presented the first unmanned train "Lastochka"

On August 28, 2019, Russian Railways first introduced the Lastochka unmanned electric train. The demonstration of the novelty took place on the test ring in Shcherbinka near Moscow. Read more here.

Delivery of the first "Swallow" with "machine vision" system

On June 26, 2019, the Ural Locomotives plant announced the transfer of the first Lastochka to Russian Railways with a machine vision system.

The "machine vision" system is one of the steps towards the introduction of pilotless high-speed electric train driving technologies. The first such system, developed by order of Russian Railways by specialists of NIIAS JSC "," will begin to be tested on the high-speed electric train "Lastochka" No. 113.

The electric train is equipped with a set of sensors such as a video camera, thermal imager and lidars, each of which performs its own function of recognizing objects along the route. For example, a thermal imager works in bad weather conditions, a video camera is focused on long distances (about 1.5 kilometers), and lidars - at short distances (up to 200 meters).

Specialists of the Ural Locomotives plant, together with the developers of the machine vision system, will monitor the work of Lastochka No. 113 for several months and make appropriate adjustments to the algorithm for automatic train driving.

The Ural Locomotives auto-driving system began to be installed on its products since 2008, from the first sample of the Sinara freight electric locomotive (2ES6 series). Subsequently, the technology was transferred to the Lastochka electric trains. It ensures the maintenance of compositions according to a predetermined schedule within a certain area. That is, various systems analyze the location of the electric train and adjust the operation of the braking and traction systems so that the train arrives at the station by a certain time.

Also at the beginning of 2019, the Ural Locomotives plant won a tender for the execution of a contract with Russian Railways for the re-equipment of high-speed Lastochka electric trains with additional ultrasonic sensors, allowing to adjust the train stop on the platform with an accuracy of 50 cm. At the end of June, 15 Swallows were already equipped with accurate positioning systems for the electric train on the platform, running on the MCC, by the end of the year, according to the contract, 23 more electric trains will be equipped.

Systems of "machine vision" and accurate positioning based on auto-driving technology are preparatory stages for the introduction of unmanned technologies. Monitoring and analysis of the operation of the systems will allow, based on the data obtained, to work out the possibilities for introducing technologies for driving rolling stock without drivers.

Ural Locomotives won a tender for the execution of a contract with Russian Railways

On March 13, 2019, it became known that the Ural Locomotives plant won a tender for the execution of a contract with Russian Railways for the re-equipment of the Lastochka high-speed electric train auto-driving system with additional ultrasonic sensors that allow adjusting the train stop on the platform with an accuracy of 50 cm.

Under the contract, by the end of 2019, the plant's specialists will equip 38 cars on the Moscow Central Ring (MCC) with accurate positioning equipment for the electric train on the platform. Sensors will be installed on the bulkheads of the head cars on both sides of the movement, the system control unit will be located under the head cars.

The MCC is an operational site where various innovative projects are being introduced. Solving the issue of the accuracy of positioning an electric train on a platform is a preparatory stage within the framework of a global project to introduce an unmanned electric train control system. That is why all developments on automatic control modes of electric trains without the participation of the driver are created taking into account the infrastructure of the MCC, including platform heights and traffic features.

The Ural Locomotives auto-driving system began to be installed on its products from the first sample of the Sinara freight electric locomotive. Subsequently, the technology was transferred to the Lastochka electric trains. Thanks to it, trains are maintained according to a predetermined schedule within a certain section. That is, various train systems analyze the location of the machine and adjust the operation of the braking and traction systems so that the train arrives at the station by a certain time.

The next stage on the way to unmanned control of the electric train will be the production of a prototype with a built-in machine vision system, which provides for the installation of cameras, radars and scanning lidars, which allow you to form a two-dimensional or three-dimensional picture of the surrounding space using optical systems. In addition, an infrared camera will be mounted on the roof of the Swallow. Additional equipment will allow assessing the condition and employment of the tracks. The prototype is planned to be launched at the MCC in the summer of 2019^[5]

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