Kickoff - Project Raivo - Miniaturized Drones and a Connected Two-Way Shunting Vehicle for Digital Freight Terminals

The Raivo – Rail Evolution research project officially began with a joint kick-off meeting on 25 June 2026. The project aims to develop an autonomous shunting vehicle that, in combination with miniaturized drones, will enable safe and efficient shunting operations at digital freight yards.

During the project launch at the premises of the coordinator, Bahnkonzept, and at the Dresden-Friedrichstadt test site, the partners presented their respective subprojects, technical priorities and planned work packages to the project management agency. The event focused on an inspection of the Rotrac demonstrator and technical discussions on the integration of drones, positioning and communication technologies, environmental sensors and a digital situation map.

Within the project, the Chair of Information Technology for Transport Systems at TU Dresden is primarily responsible for developing the flying positioning sensor network and the electronic towbar. Drones will be used as mobile sensor nodes and positioning anchors. By combining LiFi, UWB, GNSS and sensor fusion, the project aims to achieve precise relative positioning, robust communication and enhanced environmental perception for autonomous shunting operations.

The collaborative project runs from 1 June 2026 to 31 May 2029 and is funded under the BMFTR KMU-innovativ programme.