Russia: Last week, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin launched the tests at the opening of the capital’s development Centre for electric transport and unmanned technology.
Initially, a driver will operate a tram without passengers, while an unmanned system will copy his actions. “By the end of 2024, the tram will already be carrying passengers, and a year later there will be no driver in the cab”, Sobyanin pointed out.
The Department of Transportation had previously told ROLLINGSTOCK that a GoA3 tram with a driver in the cab in case of an emergency would be put on the roads. It will be a single-car tram, the Lvyonok 71-911EM from PC Transport Systems (PC TS), with special equipment.
Channel One Russia released a video of an automation equipment being tested on a tram with manoeuvres without a driver in the cab. The equipment includes lidars, radars and cameras and is said to be able to detect objects at a distance of 250 m as the software algorithms predict the traffic situation.
Video of the computer vision tram being tested in Moscow. Source: Channel One Russia
The software was developed by the Centre for electric transport and unmanned technology, a subsidiary of the Moscow Metro. The Moscow Department of Transportation points out that no third-party companies were involved.
The GoA4 trams are expected to appear on Moscow streets by 2027, with 80% of the vehicles to be automated by then.
The first trams with computer vision from another Russian developer, Cognitive Pilot, entered service in 2022 in St Petersburg. While not fully compliant with GoA4, these systems control how a driver applies the brakes and maintains or changes speed. All new trams currently entering the city are equipped with this system.
