Issue link: https://autonomy.trimble.com/en/resources/i/1487990
The approval in 2020 of the European Green Deal put in play a set of policy initiatives by the European Commission with the aim of making the European Union climate neutral by 2050. A primary initiative to aid in achieving this goal is in the work of rail freight to deliver a greater level of energy efficiency. Railergy is on the path to creating energy efficiency in railyards by partnering with an international transport and logistics company. Together, they are creating more efficient operations by automating the shunting yards. In shunting yards, trains arrive, the cars are separated and moved to new locations and then a train with new cars is linked together to form a new train. With a project on track for a 2024 launch, Railergy is testing autonomous capabilities that allow the locomotive that shunts the cars around Established in 2014, Railergy is a leader in the design and implementation of the next generation of command and control systems (CCS) for rail solutions. Railergy provides innovative solutions and consulting to industry and railway traffic operators. By bringing together skills and expertise from their team and from proven partners, Railergy delivers green transportation solutions at a lower cost. With innovative solutions and consulting that include driver assistance systems, automatic train operation and train control management system (TCMS) retrofit and integration, Railergy brings up-to-date software technology to the conservative domain of rail command and control systems. On Track for Greener, More Efficient Rail Challenge: Creating a turnkey solution for a laborious process into the positions to do so without a driver or remote control. The end goal is for the locomotive to operate autonomously within the shunting yard. A key component for successful autonomous shunting requires Railergy to position the engine without setting up ground control points. Typically ground control points are used to do a survey and make a map when direct georeferencing technology isn't available. With Trimble's Applanix direct georeferencing solutions, Railergy didn't need to set up ground control points, and was able to achieve its goals faster and at a lower cost. Railergy recognized early on that relying on GPS data alone is not safe enough because if known objects on the map are not seen by the sensors where they should be, the system stops. The autonomous movement of the shunting system relies on the accurate positioning provided by GPS as well as noting anything that may have changed, specifically something that in real-time may be blocking the railroad. The Railergy system uses redundant and diverse sensors, all of which must agree or the system stops.