Siemens Mobility, Deutsche Bahn and others made strides in an automated train development project after tests proved the technical feasibility of the concept.

The intelligent transport company and German national rail operator are collaborating with relevant industry and scientific partners on the AutomatedTrain project.

Siemens Mobility stated testing proved the viability of Grade of Automation 4, the highest tier in relevant self-driving technology, by having one of its Mireo trains transfer from a depot to a station to begin services.

Marc Ludwig, CEO of Rail Infrastructure, said Siemens Mobility and its partners have “developed the decisive technologies” which establish the “foundation for the next generation of rail transport”.

The work is “a significant step forward in bringing automation to the railway”, he added.

Testing involved the train receiving instructions then preparing itself for operation by conducting necessary tests before embarking on a journey where it “independently detects obstacles and reacts appropriately”.

Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy Johannes Steiniger branded the concept as “the future of mobility” and an example of how autonomy could help maintain a reliable rail service in the face of a shortage of skilled staff.

Technical points
Siemens Mobility stated the system relies on digital signalling technology based on the European Train Control System, which in part employs mobile networks to transfer real-time information.

Automatic Train Operation technology and intelligent vehicle control systems are also in the mix, with the Advanced Vital Vehicle Operation platform providing pre- and in-operation safety checks.

The train relies on highly-precise positioning information and digital maps. Siemens Mobility explained “state-of-the-art sensor systems” spot problems on tracks, to which the train can respond automatically.

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Connectivity infrastructure-as-a-service provider Freshwave continued to make big progress with urban small cell deployments, adding the UK city of Canterbury to its list through an ongoing tie-up with VMO2.

A quartet of 4G- and 5G-compatible small cells are involved, offering a boost to VMO2 mobile users in busy areas of the city centre.

Freshwave emphasised the discreet qualities of the equipment, a boon in terms of minimising the aesthetic impact in the historic city.

The deployment is being conducted in close collaboration with Kent County Council, the local authority in which Canterbury sits.

David Wimble, cabinet member for Economic Development and Special projects at the council, explained the authority is helping the deployment by providing access to “suitable council assets” as it seeks to provide the reliable connectivity it regards as “an essential part of modern life”.

The arrangement is one of more than 40 Freshwave has agreed with local authorities throughout the UK.

A previous small cell deployment for VMO2 covers the town of Guildford and Freshwave is a key player in a large-scale rollout in the city of Glasgow.

Mobile network operator account director Neil Barnes said such collaborations are “key to delivering mobile connectivity” and Freshwave’s approach shows “how local authorities and industry can work together to improve coverage” in areas with the greatest need.

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Huawei edged closer to laying claims of racketeering to rest as a court case brought by the US is set to get underway later today (8 September) when the process of picking a jury begins.

The Chinese vendor is steadfast in denying any wrongdoing in a matter dating to 2018 which resulted in then CFO and now rotating chair Sabrina Meng being detained by authorities in Canada.

ABC News reported the US Department of Justice (DoJ) is pursuing claims Huawei stole and attempted to steal trade secrets, ignored sanctions on doing business in North Korea and aided Iranian authorities in monitoring protestors during unrest in 2009.

The trial is one of several attacks made by the US against Huawei: it also alleges the vendor is a threat to national security and has imposed stringent restrictions on its access to key technologies.

Nikkei Asia noted the DoJ dropped two claims from its case late last week; a conspiracy charge relating to historic US presidential powers afforded under the International Emergency Economic Power Act and another relating to economic sanctions breaches.

The move left 12 charges in place.

Huawei told Nikkei Asia it is not guilty and the “narrative” of the US case is “demonstrably false”.

Prisoner swap
Although charges against Meng have long-since been dropped, Nikkei Asia noted the bargain she struck to achieve this could now hurt Huawei.

It explained the founder’s daughter admitted she made false statements about the company having worked within US sanction and export rules, details which have been cleared for use in the looming trial.

Most observers note the court case is something of a watershed in a long-running trade battle between the US and China in which big companies from the latter have become symbolic pawns.

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NTT Docomo Business began preparing to develop an IoT security system with Tess Engineering to combat growing cyberattacks on devices by addressing threats at the network level.

The pair intend to develop ways to boost the security of communications infrastructure used for remote monitoring at solar power generation plants using an existing IoT-oriented Docomo network-as-a-service (NaaS) platform.

Docomo stated the IoT devices used to remotely monitor solar facilities typically lack the performance to implement effective security measures. There are also specific difficulties associated with the operating environment.

It explained Tess Engineering is a specialist in designing and operating solar power facilities and had already reported problems involving attacks on the communication systems used to transmit operational data to remote monitoring units.

The existing threat detection and blocking functions in Docomo’s NaaS platform are expected to help tackle the threats by providing notifications and blocking capabilities.

Tess Engineering is piloting the system at some of its solar sites and the companies plan to explore further measures to provide remote monitoring systems protections in a one-stop shop model.

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Almost 130 nations called for restrictions to be placed on autonomous weapons systems, adding another slant to recent growing concerns over the impact of rogue AI.

In a post on X on 5 September, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands Tom Berendsen revealed 128 nations reached an accord on a United Nations (UN) push to address the challenges posed by lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS) by defining what the systems are.

The agreement is an “important step” in regulating the systems, Berendsen wrote.

Various news outlets quoted an Agence France-Presse (AFP) article explaining the move to define what LAWS are is the first step towards possible regulation, which the UN separately explained is needed to ensure autonomous systems do not breach international humanitarian laws prohibiting the targeting of civilians during conflicts.

UN information indicates the agreement ratifies work on the impact of emerging technologies on LAWS commenced in 2023.

Across various meetings, government experts have defined the systems as being “one or more” weapons which can work together to “identify, select and engage a target with force, without intervention by a human being”.

Life-and-death
The concerns hold particular relevance in various ongoing global conflicts, with reports Russia and Ukraine are already testing autonomous drone fleets in their war.

In late August, UN secretary general Antonio Guterres and Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), jointly expressed concerns over the growing capabilities of AI, in particular its use in scenarios involving lethal force.

“We are now dangerously close to crossing a moral red line: the autonomous targeting of humans by machines,” Guterres said.

Spoljaric branded autonomous targeting systems “morally repugnant”.

The UN and ICRC urged nations to act swiftly to agree global rules and continue to press for humans to remain involved in “life-and-death decisions”.

UN high commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk today (7 September) pressed for faster action on governing AI as a whole, warning in a speech the technology poses an “existential risk to humanity” and lamenting the “almost unlimited power” a “handful of men” have over the technology.

Volker called for independent verification and “much stronger collaboration on security”, along with expressing concern over the potential impact of AI on employment, democracy and the environment.

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