enableATO
Official Project Name: "Automated Rail Transport as the Backbone for Sustainable, Connected Mobility in Rural Areas"
Project Duration: January 1, 2024 – December 31, 2026
Busieness Area: Vibration & Monitoring Technology
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The initiative focuses on enabling automated driving on rail infrastructure, combined with automated loading and unloading of people and goods. This requires technologies, methods, data, and evaluations that enable ATO (Automatic Train Operation) functions, meet safety and security requirements, and ensure highly intelligent, reliable, and predictive diagnostics and maintenance.
Project objective and description
The project “Automated Rail Transport as the Backbone for Sustainable, Connected Mobility in Rural Areas (enableATO)” is located at the RailCampus OWL in Minden. With a grant of 12.5 million euros from the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV), it aims to develop technologies for automated rail-based mobility concepts and research interfaces to other modes of transport. The ten project partners include universities, Fraunhofer institutes, and companies.
The initiative focuses on enabling automated driving on rail infrastructure, combined with automated loading and unloading of people and goods. This requires technologies, methods, data, and evaluations that enable ATO (Automatic Train Operation) functions, meet safety and security requirements, and ensure highly intelligent, reliable, and predictive diagnostics and maintenance.
Wölfel Engineering investigates condition and performance indicators based on vibration measurement data to enable continuous monitoring and condition-based maintenance of rail vehicles. This expertise contributes to increased operational safety and cost reduction.
"The analysis of vibration and acoustic data allows for a transition from cyclical to condition-based maintenance in the rail sector. Wölfel, with over 50 years of experience in vibration measurement and monitoring, develops precise condition and performance indicators (KPIs) based on vibration measurement data. enableATO enables further research in this area. In the future, continuous monitoring and condition-based maintenance of trainsets, freight wagons, tracks, and switches can be realized both on-site and remotely."
Dr.-Ing. Manuel Eckstein, Head of Predictive Maintenance & AI
The project is part of the German Mobility Center of the Future (DZM), which consolidates expertise in mobility research across the country. The RailCampus OWL connects research, education, and industry to develop the rail technology of the future and train skilled workers.
Project Partners
Bielefeld University
Paderborn University
Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences
OWL University of Applied Sciences and Arts
Fraunhofer Institutes (IOSB-INA and IEM)
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Wölfel Engineering GmbH + Co. KG
DB Systemtechnik GmbH
HARTING Stiftung & Co. KG
Pilz GmbH & Co. KG
Associated Partners
DB Cargo AG
WAGO GmbH & Co.KG
Funding
Funding Body: Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV)
Funding Reference: 19DZ23002I
Lead Partner: TÜV Rheinland
Please contact me personally
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Do you have any questions? As the project manager at Wölfel for this project, I am available to answer any questions you may have about this research project.
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Oregon State University (Corvallis, USA)
Dipl.-Ing. in Materials Science, Saarland University
See above
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The colleagues are all very warm and open.