BerDiBa Project - Berlin Digital Rail Operations
Automated Rail Transport
In the project “Berlin Digital Rail Operations” (BerDiBa), technologies for automated driving on the rail are being developed. Fraunhofer FOKUS contributes its expertise in environment perception and adapts existing AI tools to the specific requirements of rail transport.
The project pursues three central goals: the development of driverless trains, the introduction of automatically scheduled maintenance, and a remote control that can intervene in exceptional situations such as adverse weather conditions. This aims to increase both the safety and efficiency of rail operations.
Particular emphasis is placed on reliable environment perception through AI, which can recognize and distinguish both static objects (e.g., signals or stations) and dynamic objects (people, vehicles, animals, other trains) using sensors such as radar and Lidar. For this purpose, the labeling tool FLLT.AI is adapted to the rail environment.
BerDiBa combines the expertise of Fraunhofer FOKUS, the Daimler Center for Automotive IT Innovations (DCAITI) at TU Berlin, and other partners from industry and research. The project is funded with €7.6 million from the Berlin innovation program ProFIT, with a total volume of €13.7 million. The consortium includes eleven other partners alongside Fraunhofer FOKUS, including Siemens Mobility (consortium leader), DFKI, TU Berlin, and the Zuse Institute Berlin.