Deutsche Bahn will run a driverless train on the tracks for the first time in Europe in September. This will happen thanks to technology from OTIV. This Ghent-based start-up specializes in AI-driven systems that enable freight trains, buses, and streetcars to operate autonomously in complex environments safely and efficiently.
According to the business newspaper De Tijd, which also quotes Sam De Smet, one of the start-up’s founders, “This is a breakthrough moment for us and the sector.”
From Cologne to Rotterdam
In the past, OTIV has collaborated with, among others, Dutch Railways for object detection in marshalling yards using cameras, radar, and lidar, and the Flemish public transport company De Lijn for testing sensors that register everything around the streetcar, predict possible dangers, and indicate the driver’s ideal action.
But with the Deutsche Bahn project, OTIV seems to have landed the big fish that could put the Ghent company on the world map. In September, Deutsche Bahn will deploy two locomotives for a year to transport goods on a 160-km-long railroad from Cologne to Rotterdam. According to De Tijd, a chauffeur will operate the train in Germany. Still, in the Netherlands, the train will run largely autonomously, with a “driver” in a control room available to take over remotely in case of an emergency.
Responsible for the brain of the train
“Intelligent driver assistance and, in a second stage, autonomous driving solutions enable public and private railway operators to increase safety and efficiency, thereby further contributing to the attractiveness of rail as a transport mode,” explains De Smet.
It was just that autonomous driving technology was developed by OTIV, founded in 2021 by De Smet and Niels Van Damme. While Hitachi provides the part to drive automatically, OTIV is responsible for the piece of intelligence that drives autonomously, or as De Smet himself calls it, “the brain of the self-driving train.” Indeed, the locomotives are equipped with sensors, cameras, lidar, and radar technology, while the software and algorithms interpret the environment, recognize objects, perceive depth, and predict danger.
Dreams of the U.S.
The company specifically does not focus on road vehicles, as the competition in this area is too great; instead, it concentrates primarily on rail vehicles, which it considers an interesting European niche. They are deliberately examining complex environments, such as industrial sites, ports, and urban streetcars, and they especially hope that the modal shift to rail will occur, as this might open more doors for them.
OTIV, currently employing 40 people, has also worked in the past with the French railroad company SNCF, the Spanish CAF and ArcelorMittal (for the automation of internal freight traffic on their sites) but would also like to aim its expansion arrows at the American market, precisely because there is still a lot of potential in rail freight transport, which accounts for 30% of the market.
