Good progress towards autonomous streetcar operation

Good progress towards autonomous streetcar operation

Since October 2022, HÖRMANN Vehicle Engineering GmbH has been working in close cooperation with CVAG (Chemnitzer Verkehrs-AG), the IABG and FusionSystems GmbH, funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection and supervised by TÜV Rheinland Group, in the SmarTram project to develop innovative solutions for autonomous streetcar operation.

A striking yellow Tatra streetcar is now occasionally used on the route network of the city of Chemnitz and at the CVAG depot, but does not collect passengers - instead, it collects a wealth of valuable data for the various research tasks. During the test drives, advanced systems for precise position detection, optical recognition of light signals and points as well as object recognition and distance measurement are tested. At present, the vehicle is of course always driven by a trained driver.

In the future, however, the "SmarTram" will continuously monitor its surroundings and automatically adapt its driving behavior, for which various sensors will be installed and corresponding safety mechanisms will be developed based on this in order to be able to carry out driverless journeys on suitable sections of the route in the future.

We cordially invite all interested parties to visit the "SmarTram" on September 7, 2024 at the open day at the CVAG depot in Adelsberg. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., our project staff will be on hand to answer questions and provide insights into this exciting project.