The STREAM collaboration project is coming to an end – Novatron participates in the final demonstration in Spain
STREAM is an EU-funded collaboration project involving seven entities from five EU countries. The goal is to develop two innovative technologies to improve inspection and maintenance functions in railway transportation. At the same time, the project aims to modernize work practices by introducing robotics systems and improve worker safety by creating benefits for their health and well-being.
“The railway industry faces important challenges as the average age of the workforce increases, while fewer young workers are interested in physically demanding jobs. Intelligent technologies can help reduce job requirements, prevent accidents, and support workers in heavy activities”
– STREAM website
The collaboration project is finally coming to an end, and Novatron’s research team leader Antti Kolu and Hydraulic Control Systems Lead Developer Janne Koivumäki, who was responsible for control system research, will participate in the project’s final demo event in Port of Tarragona, Spain on June 8th.
Under the project name of Work Stream 1: OTA3M (On-Track Autonomous Multi-purpose Mobile Manipulators), aims to improve worker safety through OTA3M (reducing human errors due to robotics-controlled operations), reduce maintenance costs by up to 20% compared to current practices, improve the quality and precision of operations through robot control principles, and enhance quality assessment based on 3D model reconstruction.
One of Novatron’s goals was to automate a rail excavator. The video shows the removal of gravel during railway maintenance. The machine’s hydraulics and rail wheels operate completely independently. Koivumäki acts as a safety monitor in the cab.
See also how the machine recognizes objects approaching it while moving.
You can find more about the STREAM project below
Participating in the collaborative project are:
Novatron Oy
Tampere University
STAM SRL STAM SRL
COMSA Corporación
UNIFE | The European Rail Supply Industry Association
Grenoble Ecole de Management
Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking
Port Tarragona