Duration: 01.01.2024 - 31.12.2026
Total funding volume: 12.5 million euros
University funding volume: approx. 2 million euros
Sponsored by: Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport Affairs (BMDV)

A current challenge in the transformation of the transport system is to combine individuality with efficiency and sustainability. Automation, autonomous driving, intelligent traffic management, digital connectivity and networked mobility play a central role in this context. The aim of the "enableATO" project is to implement modern ideas for automated rail mobility and investigate them using new rail-based mobility concepts for rural areas. The focus is on technologies related to automated driving such as perception by sensors, authorisation issues, intelligent maintenance and the demonstration of the technologies, e.g. on the MONOCAB - an autonomous monorail. At the same time, initial questions regarding user acceptance are being researched and addressed and the scientific dialogue strengthened. The project, which is based in Minden at the RailCampus OWL, is embedded in the German Centre for Future Mobility (DZM), which is establishing a nationwide research network for mobility research at four locations in Hamburg, Annaberg-Buchholz, Minden and Karlsruhe.

Three chairs and specialist groups at Paderborn University are involved in the project: the Chair of Dynamics and Mechatronics(LDM) of Professor Dr.-Ing. habil. Walter Sextro, the Chair of Data Management in Mechanical Engineering(DMB) of Professor Dr. Iryna Mozgova and the department of Machine Learning and Optimisation(MaLeO) of Professor Dr. Heike Trautmann. The activities of the LDM aim to implement intelligent maintenance of rail vehicles in order to achieve greater operational safety, less downtime and lower overall costs. The activities of the DMB support the development of a digital twin for automated maintenance management by realising a semantic and machine-readable representation of the data and metadata generated in the project. The activities of the MaLeO department focus on simultaneously taking into account various competing objectives. Examples of this are the conflict between energy efficiency and robustness, where various optimal compromises can be adapted depending on the situation in order to be able to react optimally to changing preferences or environmental influences.

Project partners: Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences, Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Applied Sciences, Bielefeld University, Fraunhofer Institute for Engineering Design and Mechatronics (IEM) and Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Automation (IOSB-INA), DB Systemtechnik GmbH, HARTING Stiftung & Co KG, Pilz GmbH & Co KG and W?lfel Engineering GmbH & Co KG