📩 20/09/2023 15:26
Public transport providers are facing a growing challenge: the significant increase in energy prices and the resulting need to optimize their operations. Every penny spent on inefficient operations means fewer resources to improve services and expand the transportation network. Transportation providers also face increasing costs to repair vehicles damaged in collisions. In addition, the importance given to ensuring safety both inside and around vehicles is increasing. Škoda Group has created solutions that allow transport companies to integrate their services and take them to a new level. These include, for example, automatic train operation or a collision avoidance system. The group introduced its digital systems at a press conference held at the Trako 2023 trade fair in Gdańsk, Poland.
Train operators are investigating how they can optimize energy consumption across the extensive rail network. Škoda Group's ATO system guides the train automatically. Its role is to automate the driver's tasks and plan the journey according to the timetable and energy savings. The system can minimize energy loss by reacting to the current situation on the route. The driver's presence is then required to deal with unforeseen and unpredictable events.
Jiří Liberda, Head of Škoda Group Digital Business Unit, said: “Smart digital solutions provide great benefits for transport companies and passengers. Using smart technology can optimize financial costs by reducing energy consumption by up to 15%. In addition, thanks to the ATO system, trains comply better with their schedules, leading to an overall increase in service quality. “Transportation is also becoming more environmentally friendly, safer and smoother in daily operations,” he says.
Reducing costs in rail and cities
Urban transportation companies, on the other hand, face high costs in repairing vehicles damaged after a collision. These occur not only in traffic but also in warehouses. It is the job of the collision avoidance system (ACS) to reduce the impact of collisions. Škoda Group uses a combination of LiDAR technology, cameras and precise localization using HD maps and odometer. This setup allows the system to create a virtual tunnel through which the vehicle can detect obstacles, provide early warning, and also perform emergency braking. By applying ACS to their vehicles, suppliers can significantly reduce costs and reduce the number of serious injuries, especially those related to post-accident response.
The Škoda Group not only produces groundbreaking solutions, but also comes with a vision in which autonomous technologies play an important role in public transport. The group's latest project builds on existing digital systems and integrates them into a comprehensive smart warehouse ecosystem. The equation is simple; increased efficiency plus increased safety equals cost savings, a happier passenger and a cleaner environment.