Planning rail capacity through automated infrastructure design
Wed, 17 Oct 2018 10:09:40 BST
Innovate UK and Network Rail invite proposals for their planning rail capacity through automated infrastructure design call. This supports projects that develop and demonstrate tools that automatically plan rail infrastructure, in order to model the railway’s capacity for the future and stimulate further development of automated design tools.
Projects must build on existing generative design technologies, develop solutions relevant to rail and prove the idea’s feasibility at as high a level of maturity as possible. Projects must fall under the industrial research and experimental development categories. Proposals must show good use of existing technologies and capabilities in automated or generative design. Solutions must automate the design of either track layout, overhead line electrification, traction power supply system, signalling systems or other railway infrastructure. Solutions must produce optimal designs that could be used as candidates for implementation and must be detailed enough for modelling new infrastructure and services in railsys or comparable industry standard simulation tools.
They must take into account the following:
- representative data, such as topography, infrastructure components and layout, or surrounding features;
- control factors or weightings to set priorities in the output for maintenance costs, resilience and journey times;
- constraints, such as land availability;
- predicted demand.
Generative design solutions must consider a wide range of data. System prototypes must be demonstrated to Network Rail at the end of the project, simulating its use in a rail infrastructure design environment. Test data must be prepared that is ideally a historical case study with available detailed data and real outcomes, or an output of a number of designs based on relevant constraints, target outcomes and their weightings.
UK businesses, charity, or public sector or research and technology organisations may apply and lead projects. Work must be carried out in the UK and results must be exploited in or from the UK. Academic organisations are not eligible. Businesses may work alone or with others. Charity, public sector organisations and RTOs must collaborate with at least one business. Applicants may be from within and outside the rail sector but partnerships with organisations with rail expertise are encouraged. Non-UK organisation may be involved but do not receive funding.
The total budget is £300,000 for projects of between £50,000 and £200,000 each and between six months and one year duration. Projects must start by 30 April 2019 and end by 31 March 2020. Projects with total costs under £100,000 may be single or collaborative but projects with costs over £100,000 must be collaborative. For industrial research projects, funding of up to 70 per cent of eligible project costs are provided for micro or small businesses, up to 60 per cent for medium-sized businesses or up to 50 per cent for large businesses. For experimental development projects, funding of up to 45 per cent of eligible project costs are provided for micro or small businesses, up to 35 per cent for medium-sized businesses or up to 25 per cent for large businesses. Research organisations in consortiums may share up to 30 per cent of the total project costs.
Closing date 19 Dec 18
