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Overview

Within this IEEE ITSS Germany Chapter Distinguished Lecture Series 2026, Prof. Francesco Flammini (UniFI, SUPSI) will give a talk entitled “A Vision of Intelligent Train Control”.

The talk will cover topics including:

  • AI and advanced communication bringing optimisation, learning, and “self-x” capabilities.
  • Dependability and measurable trust as challenges for certification.
  • Future train control building on ATO, ATP, and supervision paradigms.
  • Feasibility considerations such as explainability, autonomic computing, and digital twins.
  • Traditional ATP as a safety envelope for energy-, comfort-, and capacity-optimised operation.
  • Intelligent protection with signal recognition and obstacle detection to enhance safety through advanced driving assistance.

Abstract

The progressive adoption of artificial intelligence and advanced communication technologies within railway control and automation has brought up a huge potential in terms of optimisation, learning and adaptation, due to the so-called “self-x” capabilities; however, it has also raised several dependability concerns due to the lack of measurable trust that is needed for certification purposes. In this talk, a vision will be provided about future train control that builds upon existing automatic train operation, protection, and supervision paradigms. The basic concepts for autonomous driving in digital railways will be provided, and feasibility will be addressed in terms of challenges and opportunities, including explainability, autonomic computing, and digital twins. Due to the clear architectural distinction, traditional train protection (ATP) can act as a safety envelope for intelligent operation to optimise energy, comfort, and capacity, while intelligent protection based on signal recognition and obstacle detection can improve safety through advanced driving assistance.

Event details

📅 Thursday, 4th February 2026
⏰ 5:00 PM CET (Berlin)

Organized by: IEEE ITSS Germany Chapter

Add to your calendar: https://calendarlink.com/event/9vZIF