Advantages of string transport over ground-based unmanned vehicles

The development of automation in the transport industry continues to gain momentum. Car manufacturers are improving the algorithms of autopilots for passenger cars and trucks every year, but the technology is still not reliable enough. Meanwhile, demand for automation of urban and cargo transport from municipalities around the world is growing rapidly. While some continue to design and test, UST Inc. offers a ready-made solution.

Features of autonomous ground transportation

Autopilot development is actively underway in various countries, from corporations to startups. Driverless buses are operating in test mode in Singapore, Oslo, and Helsinki. Sweden plans to launch autonomous cargo shuttles. However, widespread implementation is still a long way off.

Full autonomous control is only possible with level 4-5 systems capable of responding quickly and appropriately to road conditions. But even these systems are still unstable.

Although unmanned cars travel in designated lanes, this does not protect them from accidents – they are still on the same road as other vehicles. According to statistics from the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there have been 3,979 incidents involving driverless cars since 2019. Of these, 10% resulted in passenger injuries and 2% in fatalities, caused by both human error and failures in ADAS and ADS systems.

Modern autopilots rely on data from a variety of sensors, including cameras, lidars, radars, and sonars. A malfunction or failure of even one of these sensors can “blind” the system, increasing the risk of an accident.

In addition, autonomous piloting systems generate huge amounts of data every day. According to Intel's estimates, up to 4,000 GB of information is accumulated per day, of which only 1% is useful. Maintaining such arrays requires powerful servers with high energy consumption, which paradoxically harms the environment – contrary to the original idea of electric cars as green transportation.

Finally, even the most advanced autopilots are not immune to hacking and malfunction. Inadequate software security allows attackers to gain remote access to vehicle controls, posing serious safety risks.

String transport as an alternative

Against the backdrop of the above limitations, alternative solutions such as string transport are attracting increasing attention. It is designed from the outset to meet the requirements of autonomy, environmental friendliness, and safety, eliminating many of the vulnerabilities inherent in ground-based unmanned vehicles.

String transport is a comprehensive solution consisting of an elevated track, passenger stations, rolling stock (rail unmanned vehicles), and an automated control system (ACS).

The track on which the rail vehicles travel is located several dozen meters above the ground. This eliminates accidents involving conventional transport and pedestrians, requires less energy, and generates significantly less data, reducing the load on the IT infrastructure.

The ACS controls the route, speed, and intervals of the rail electric vehicles, coordinates the operation and status of all elements of the uST complex, and monitors the situation both inside and outside. All collected data is transmitted in real time to the dispatcher, who simply monitors the operation of the complex.

Summing up

Thus, string transport has obvious advantages over ground-based unmanned vehicles in terms of automation quality, safety, energy efficiency, and environmental friendliness. It is a budget-friendly and simple, yet reliable and, most importantly, safe alternative to unmanned buses and shuttles, which are expensive and still imperfect.