Since 2015, the BMDV has been funding electromobility within the framework of the Electromobility Funding Guideline. In the priority area of research and development, only 37 projects have been approved so far (9 of them in the area of “buses”), one of which is now also in favour of the “LibroDuct AAO – automatic wiring to the overhead line for trolley buses, also while driving”. (https://www.now-gmbh.de/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/NOW_FuE-Foerderprojekte-auf-einen-Blick.pdf ). An official handover ceremony for the funding approval will take place on 12 September 2023.
Key points of the funding project
- Subject: “LibroDuct AAO – Automatic wiring to the overhead line for trolleybuses, also while driving”.
- Consortium: The three partners LibroDuct GmbH & Co. KG (consortium leader), DIaLOGIKa GmbH (both Saarbrücken) and Bergische Universität Wuppertal.
- Funding body: Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs and Transport (BMDV).
- Project volume: Approx. € 2.5 million
- Grant amount: 2,063,584 €
- Duration: 3 years, starting 1 June 2023
Fully automatic connection and disconnection for trolleybuses
Is it possible for battery trolleybuses to automatically connect and disconnect their trolley booms to and from the overhead lines while driving? The LibroDuct AAO project aims to test this and provide proof of concept. With this technology, trolleybuses can be used even more flexibly and efficiently with significantly reduced infrastructure requirements. In the LibroDuct technique, the location of the overhead wires and current collectors is detected via stereo-optic pattern recognition by means of digital cameras. Their results guide the actuators of the current collectors (elevation and rotation) for precise contact with and disconnection from the overhead wires. The project is suitable for significantly simplify the use of electric buses in the important inner-city and peri-urban public transport.
The project partners
The Chair of Automation/Control Engineering at the University of Wuppertal (https://www.lart.uni-wuppertal.de/de/ ) as part of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Information Technology and Media Technology has been headed by Prof. Tibken since 1999. The methodological focus is currently primarily on the theoretical aspects of control engineering, such as stability analysis, modelling, control and state estimation for dynamic, uncertain nonlinear systems.
DIaLOGIKa Gesellschaft für angewandte Informatik mbH is a medium-sized, second-generation owner-managed software house with around 150 employees. Since 1982, the company has been implementing customised software solutions for national and international authorities (European Commission, Federal Government, etc.) and private-sector clients from security-relevant industries (telecommunications, banks, etc.) from its headquarters in Saarland. The range of services is broad and includes the business areas of telecommunications, information procedures, document life cycle, digital security and safeguards.
LibroDuct GmbH & Co. KG, which acts as consortium leader in the current joint project, was founded in 2018 as a spin-off from the project partner DIaLOGIKa in order to bundle the goals of the former LibroDuct project. The company is involved – on the basis of its own patents – not only in the automatic wiring of trolley buses, but also in various other projects in the field of electromobility.
