Disney Monorails go Officially Automated?

[twilight mitsuk]

From what I've read, the only part that's actually being automated is the drive and location awareness functions. Load/unload operations will still rely heavily on operators as the trains sit slightly above the load platforms and must have someone to place and remove the ramps.

If I had to guess, It will probably work much like most roller coasters do, in that an operator has to push a button to declare the train is ready for door close/dispatch before it can leave. So, it won't be totally automated, like you see at the Orlando airport and most others.

Essentially, I would see it working as follows:
1) Train pulls into a station
2) Opens doors for exit
3) Optionally, opens opposite doors for entry
4) Sounds door closing message, Closes exit doors
5) Waits for operator to push clear/dispatch button
6) Sounds door closing message, Closes doors
7) Train dispatches

Once step 5 occurs, the train will then resume automation functions, start checking for clearance, location of other trains, etc, and will then communicate with the master system that it's ready for departure. I would assume the master controller will then advise on actual departure clearance, that is, unless the systems are designed as standalone whereby they function autonomously in a similar fashion as the current human operator.
Can anybody speak to this? Will each train function autonomously or will they rely on a master controller (system) for dispatching and movement?

More like MTA's L train, DC metro, BART, ETC.

 

[thomas998]

Waymo publishes accident reports as do others in the field. What throughs off the statistics is that the vast majority of incidents are caused by others but some like to calculate these as though it is the car's fault. Waymo, Uber and others are also operating in real world conditions with self driving taxis available in Singapore, Pittsburgh and now San Francisco.

To me the fact that the automated cars are involved in more wrecks is what matters not who was judged to be at fault. The fact that you have a statistically higher probability of a wreck in an automated car vs a human driven car tells me that the cars aren't up to snuff yet. Who is at fault is often debatable just ask your son or daughter when they have their first wreck and you'll probably see first hand that it was the other person's fault regardless of who received the ticket.

 

[lazyboy97o]

To me the fact that the automated cars are involved in more wrecks is what matters not who was judged to be at fault. The fact that you have a statistically higher probability of a wreck in an automated car vs a human driven car tells me that the cars aren't up to snuff yet. Who is at fault is often debatable just ask your son or daughter when they have their first wreck and you'll probably see first hand that it was the other person's fault regardless of who received the ticket.

That is a dumb metric that is not used when dealing with human drivers. The concern is the driver and their likelihood of causing an accident. Someone driving into a car properly stopped at a red light is not a matter of interpretation. These vehicles are collecting data that is far more reliable than human memory and perception.

 

[homerdance]

To me the fact that the automated cars are involved in more wrecks is what matters not who was judged to be at fault. The fact that you have a statistically higher probability of a wreck in an automated car vs a human driven car tells me that the cars aren't up to snuff yet. Who is at fault is often debatable just ask your son or daughter when they have their first wreck and you'll probably see first hand that it was the other person's fault regardless of who received the ticket.

Where did this stat come from?

 

[thomas998]

Where did this stat come from?

Was from work that was done at University of California's PATH (Partners for Advanced Transportation Technology)... Pretty much determined that the automated car was not even up to the standards of a novice human driver.

 

[homerdance]

Was from work that was done at University of California's PATH (Partners for Advanced Transportation Technology)... Pretty much determined that the automated car was not even up to the standards of a novice human driver.

Is there a link to the report/Study? I can't seem to find anything that says your risks are lowered using automated features of a car.

I personally see the automation of the monorails as a good thing, especially if it increases capacity. hopefully the future monorail beams will be built as fully automated from the start.

 

[thomas998]

Is there a link to the report/Study? I can't seem to find anything that says your risks are lowered using automated features of a car.

I personally see the automation of the monorails as a good thing, especially if it increases capacity. hopefully the future monorail beams will be built as fully automated from the start.

It wasn't discussing automated features of a car it was only covering the full auto self driving cars.

 

[danlb_2000]

That might be all you need if it were a closed and controlled loop... But the monorail tracks have tracks that switch, which if I recall is the reason they had the fatal monorail accident in the past where someone switched the tracks and because it was dark no one could tell until it was too late. How will the autopilot know that the track is there? That would be a whole new level of sensors and developing a optic system that could see if the tracks in front were there and were pointed in the right direction.

As for using GPS, that could be a problem in that GPS can be spoofed from outsiders and if you wanted to screw with a monorail system what better way than simply driving near a track jamming the GPS and then watching the monorail computer have a nervous breakdown when it has no clue where it is.

In the end my family doesn't really care if they have drivers anymore or not sense they stopped letting you ride up front.

The accident happened because not only was the switch not in the expected position, the driver could not see the other train. The position of the switch can be easily detected by a sensor on the switch itself (which probably already exist) and transmitted to the train. Even if it did go through the switch with it in the wrong position, it would also have an on-board collision avoidance system to it didn't hit another train.

If the train used GPS, it could detect when it is no longer receiving a good GPS signal and do an emergency stop. Even if the position was accurately spoofed to make the train think it was somewhere else on the track, collision avoidance would prevent it from hitting something, so worst that would happen is that is misses a station.