At the 23rd International Innovation Forum in St Petersburg, Russian industrialists demonstrated and discussed promising models and technologies for unmanned vehicles. Innovative development efforts have been approved at the government level in Russia. The share of Russian manufacturers in the UAV market should reach 60% by 2035; the planned volume of sales, RUR 8 tln ($125 bln) – with exports accounting for RUR 3 tln ($47 bln). Net profits are going to top RUR 1 tln ($16 bln). UAV projects are being initially funded by the government, but the plan is to gradually reduce state funding while attracting private investors.
Slashing costs
The first drone projects were launched in Germany in the 1980s. Mercedes introduced a minibus that accelerated to 100 kmh while changing lanes and moving along a given trajectory. The concept of making unmanned vehicles has been gaining momentum ever since because it appears to be tremendously cost effective. Forbes estimates the potential reduction of costs at $2 tln a year.
In 2014, Tesla launched the Model S all-wheel-drive sedan adding a Full Self-Driving chip and an Nvidia computer for autonomous driving in 2019. European companies are quickly catching up with their American counterparts: Renault-Nissan plans to roll out 10 cars with autonomous control until 2020.
Russian automotive industry joins drone race
The unmanned project Matrёshka presented by Russia’s Volgabus won the RAF-2018 Award for Best Innovation of Russia. This modular unmanned transport system can transport people or goods, and perform utility work. Due to its modular structure, the user can quickly replace the functional and technological units, transforming one vehicle into another. The system is managed by a central computer.
In June 12, 2018, Kamaz tested a new prototype of its Shuttle driverless electric bus. It has no control gear whatsoever. Electronic devices are in charge of maneuvering; motion sensors, cameras and LIDAR monitor traffic. The bus cruised around the testing ground transmitting telemetry to the operations control station in real time via MegaFon 5G modems.
Yandex was the first company in Russia to showcase a trial run of self-driving vehicle. A new Yandex subsidiary established last October will focus on the driverless technology.
In February 2019, the Bauman Depot in Moscow started testing the first autonomous tram. PC Transport Systems and Cognitive Technologies developed a self-driving tram that can automatically react to objects around it even in poor visibility on the road. The commercial launched is scheduled for 2021.
The agricultural industry also stepped in. Cognitive Technologies (Russia) tested a self-driving harvester in night conditions. The harvester’s neural network is able to recognize various types of objects such as processed and unprocessed surface of a field, and obstacles (posts, trees, etc.).
Russian company Avrora Robotics and AvtoNet National Technological Initiative developed a project for applying autonomous agricultural equipment to field work, including planting and seeding, maintenance and harvesting of crops. By 2021, they plan to launch a farming technology that will allow Agrobot tractor to perform basic tasks without an operator.
Since early 2019, autonomous vehicles have been tested in harsh weather conditions under the Up Great Winter City technology competition. Eleven participants have presented their projects, including some of the country’s most progressive companies and leading universities. Self-driving models are being put to the test by bad weather, traffic congestion, faded road marking, low visibility of road signs and pedestrian traffic. Results will be announced this month.
Current developments
Dutch company KPMG’s annual ranking analyzes the readiness of countries to launch unmanned vehicles. As of 2019, Russia ranked 22nd. The current models of unmanned cars can move autonomously in various conditions, but there are still many issues that hamper the practical introduction of unmanned vehicle technology.
An information exchange network is necessary for traffic participants to interact with each other. Attracting investments by private companies will speed up the construction of the infrastructure. Due to economically viable driverless cars, 7% of Russians who work as drivers will lose their jobs, as well as those who are engaged in insurance services and road accident analytics. If there are no violations of traffic rules, the role of the traffic police will inevitably change. On August 15, 2019, the Regulatory Acts federal website published a draft resolution that describes the ways to provide the safe use of unmanned vehicles on Russian roads. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has prepared a document that outlines the principles of functioning, safe use and prevention of cyber-attacks on unmanned cars, as well as the creation of a telecommunications infrastructure based on the V2X service platform. It also outlines the conditions for admission to the roads in accordance with the state standards, ISO and others.
Unmanned systems for railway transport
Safety is one of the main advantages of unmanned technologies for railway transport. 50% of all accidents are caused by human factors. The economic benefit from a ‘digital’ railway system is no less important: according to statistics, the technology will bring over RUR 3 bln ($47 mio) per year by 2026 due to relieving over 1K employees of their jobs.
This August, a driverless electric train, Lastochka, had a trial run. Only Russian-made control systems are used on the train; special equipment connects it with the operations control center. Lastochka runs on a schedule and begins to automatically brake when an obstacle is identified. The train is controlled by the driver from the cab in an automatic mode, while the operator controls the transportation process at the control center.
Russian Railways is developing station infrastructure for servicing drones, and fit railway facilities with equipment for train traffic remote control. A series of tests is planned for 2020 for using the technology under drivers’ control. However, there are no plans yet for testing passenger-carrying services.
Unmanned aerial vehicles
In Russia, the use of drones is increasing every year despite economic difficulties. The government is actively investing in the development of UAVs, including a project for unmanned transport aircraft of strategic nature. Russia is developing three types of unmanned aircraft systems: military aircraft, civilian UAVs, and game drones.
UAVs are used for reconnaissance, border surveillance, meteorology, environmental monitoring, and mapping. They remain operational 24/7, regardless of the weather conditions and with minimal risk to human life. The amounts of money invested in building civilian drones (RUR 450 mio, or $7.02 mio) are incomparably smaller than investments in unmanned military systems. Development prospects attract investors to the civilian and gaming segments – yet it is too early to talk about large-scale implementation so far.
Intelligent transport systems change reality
Unmanned vehicles are designed to improve road traffic safety and ride comfort. We are actually seeing the development of a new industry, with its market only starting to emerge. It is crucial not to lose momentum and use every possible chance of leading the drone race and winning back a considerable share of the world unmanned technology market in the coming years.
By Christina Firsova