Project Overview:
The Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education (BCRRE) are leaders in their field. As part of a new facility fit-out, the BCRRE were upgrading their existing simulation system and turned to Agility3 to provide enhanced cab-view visuals.
Project Features:
The BCRRE conduct research that requires a range of different environments so they needed a tool that could be used to automatically generate and customise realistic environments that accurately reflect any real world location. Interfacing with BCRRE’s railway simulator, BRaVE, REMoD provides the driver in the BCRRE simulator with a realistic view out of the front of the cab, along with environmental sounds such as the chatter of passengers waiting on a platform.
At runtime, information such as train positions, signal states, time of day and even the number of passengers on platforms is read in from BRaVE and used to provide the train driver in the simulator with a view that accurately reflects the state of the simulated world. Signals can be seen changing, other trains can be seen passing and even the sun is shown in the correct position based on date and time information.
The REMoD editor reads track data exported from the BRaVE simulator and automatically positions signals, platforms and track equipment such as balises and magnets. It then provides a range of tools to enable the BCRRE team to define the trackside environment in as much detail as required to support their research objectives.
Solution Benefits:
REMoD provides the BCRRE with a solution to quickly and easily generate new rail environments and visualise them as seen from the cab of a train simulated by BRaVE.
Dr David Kirkwood, Senior Research Fellow at BCRRE, has commented: “Collaborating with Agility3 has enabled our train driving simulation to advance to the next level. The team worked closely with us to understand and capture our requirements, providing us with a tool to automatically generate and customise realistic-looking, real-world railway environments using 3D models.”
For our part, we are delighted to be connected with such an esteemed research organisation and its team on this project, and we look forward to adding value to what is, without any doubt, a game-changing ‘look down the rail track’ across Europe and further afield.
Project Overview:
For ProRail, the organisation responsible for the maintenance and operation of the Dutch Rail Networks, we developed and delivered a 3D View Display (3VD) solution to help ProRail to prepare for the upcoming implementation of the new European Railway Traffic Management System (ERTMS) on the Dutch railway.
Project Features:
The bespoke 3VD solution procedurally auto-generates 3D rail networks from scenario-specific data defined by ProRail and visualises the rail networks from the perspective of a train driver.
The 3VD interfaces with existing ERTMS Driver Machine Interface (DMI) and train simulators, enabling the 3VD to render a view from the simulated train cab consistent with the data presented to the driver on the simulated DMI.
The 3D visualisation shows tracks, stations, overhead electrification, signals, signs, night time and weather effects and several other features including other trains.
Solution Benefits and Client Feedback:
Having this integrated 3D view is enabling ProRail to gain a thorough insight into how ERTMS will impact the experience of a train driver and is helping them to test, improve and validate the processes that will take place between train drivers and controllers. It is also allowing them to explore new, innovative train platooning solutions.
ProRail were a great client on this project and we had some kind feedback from Jelle van Luipen, the Innovation Programme Manager at ProRail:
“ProRail are very happy with the project Agility3 delivered for visualising the Dutch railway infrastructure. From the very start of the project Agility3 were willing and able to understand the needs of ProRail and, through their expertise in developing high-performance 3D visualisations, translate these needs into usable solutions. Tight deadlines were always met and Agility3 are very easy to work with.”
Project Overview:
VirtuRail is an interactive 3D visualisation application, born out of a need for Transport for London (TfL), London’s transport network operator, to visualise the complex data from their Railway Engineering Simulator (RES).
Project Features:
We developed an application for TfL that auto-generates a virtual 3D environment based on the RES data that is fed into it. These virtual worlds contain the track networks as they are defined in the data including stations, signals, and generic surrounding environments.
RES output data describing the performance of the railway network can also be loaded into VirtuRail to show the movement of trains around the network, enabling TfL to visualise their rail networks like never before. The user can navigate freely within the environment, jump to signals, platforms and other features within the network or view the scene from the perspective of a train driver or passenger. Inset views can be used to simultaneously show multiple events, Local Area Networking functionality enables several users to inhabit the same virtual environment to aid collaboration and simulation speed for the movement of trains can slowed down, paused or sped up.
Solution Benefits:
Project Overview:
The Virtual Route Viewer (VRV) is a Windows application that has been used by high-profile rail organisations, such as Network Rail, to enable them to visualise and navigate highly accurate virtual 3D railway environments in an easy, intuitive and useful way. Its main use is to enable rail organisations to effectively visualise designs for rail infrastructure development projects.
Project Features:
When visualising a 3D railway environment within the VRV, the user can navigate freely around that environment whilst being able to record movies as they do so. Alternatively, they can attach their viewpoint to the track bed and travel along the track for a driver perspective. The user can change the “time of day”, influencing lighting and shadows and, using the 4D functionality, they can also switch between different 3D models showing, for example, different stages of a train station redevelopment.
For a fully immersive experience the VRV can be configured with a Virtual Reality (VR) headset.
Solution Benefits:
Project Overview:
The Liverpool Lime Street 3D environment is a virtual railway environment with a high degree of accuracy covering the Liverpool Lime Street station itself along with the track corridor out to Edge Hill and beyond. This was developed to support the planned station redevelopment at Liverpool Lime Street to increase capacity. It was used in conjunction with the VRV.
Project Features:
Derived from CAD data, the environment has various features that are accurately positioned within the scene to within a few centimetres and photography surveys were used to give features a realistic appearance. Multiple design options were incorporated into the model.
Solution Benefits:
Project Overview:
This project involved the development of a 3D virtual railway environment consisting of the railway line from Bedford to Kettering and Corby to enable engineers to familiarise with the Midlands Main-Line track corridor in anticipation of engineering works taking place on the line.
Project Features:
The virtual environment was based on a range of data sources including CAD and LiDAR data supplied to us by our client. A photographic survey was also conducted for each station along the route to ensure the accuracy and high-quality visual appearance of the environment.
Solution Benefits:
Project Overview:
Developed for Transport for London (TfL) as a follow on from the “VirtuRail” project, we built this Virtual Reality (VR) Rail Experience to demonstrate to TfL, and others, how VR could be an effective tool for various activities in the rail domain.
Project Features:
Within the Rail VR Experience users are fully immersed, through a VR headset and accompanying controllers, within a representative London Underground Tube Station. The user is able to navigate themselves along the station before alighting an arriving training which takes the user to the next station. Whilst in the carriage, the user can switch seats and move to adjacent carriages. They can even move into the drivers cabin and take control of the train speed if they so desire before disembarking the train at the next station.
Solution Benefits:
