A cart having a wheel and a cart-computing device communicatively coupled to the wheel, where the cart-computing device receives an electrical signal via the wheel. The electrical signal comprises a communication signal and electrical power. The communication signal corresponds to one or more instructions for controlling an operation of the cart and the electrical power of the electrical signal powers the cart-computing device.

Control architecture for use with transport systems, such as linear drive systems, rotary drive systems, or a combination thereof, comprising a computer system having a controller for operating control system software for receiving input commands and protocols for creating a motion profile for each transport element, and a gateway for receiving the motion profile from the control system software and for operating gateway drive software that functions to select the appropriate drives to move each transport element along one or more tracks in accordance with their motion profiles.

An Automous vehicle (AV) is configured on a railway system. The AV can be configured among the other vehicles and railway to communicate with a rider on a peer to peer basis to pick up the rider on demand, rather than the rider being held hostage to a fixed railway schedule. The rider can have an application on his/her cell phone, which tracks each of the AVs, and contact them using the application on the cell phone.

A cart having a wheel, a drive motor coupled to the wheel such that an output of the drive motor causes the wheel to rotate and propel the cart, a cart-computing device communicatively coupled to the drive motor; and one or more sensors communicatively coupled to the cart-computing device, the one or more sensors generating one or more signals in response to a detected event. The cart-computing device receives a communication signal and electrical power via the wheel. The communication signal corresponds to one or more instructions for controlling an operation of the cart. The cart-computing device receives the one or more signals from the one or more sensors. The cart-computing device generates and transmits a control signal to the drive motor to cause the drive motor to operate based on at least one of the one or more signals generated by the one or more sensors or the communication signal.

A travelling vehicle system includes travelling vehicles and a controller. The controller includes a storage that stores a last permitted travelling vehicle, to which a passage permission is transmitted lastly and the passage permission for which is not canceled, for each direction in a branching section or a merging section included in a blocking area, stores a last canceled travelling vehicle, the passage permission for which is canceled lastly, for each direction in the blocking area, and stores the travelling vehicle, to which the passage permission in a same direction in the blocking area is transmitted lastly, as a forward travelling vehicle of a travelling vehicle waiting for the permission to pass through the blocking area at the time of transmission of the passage permission to the passage-permission waiting travelling vehicle, and a determiner that determines whether to give passage permission to the travelling vehicle waiting for the permission to pass through the blocking area based on whether the forward travelling vehicle of the passage-permission waiting travelling vehicle coincides with the last permitted travelling vehicle or the last canceled travelling vehicle for the blocking area.

In an example, the autonomous vehicle (AV) can be configured among the other vehicles and railway to communicate with a rider on a peer to peer basis to pick up the rider on demand from a location on a track, like a railway, tram or other track, rather than the rider being held hostage to a fixed railway schedule. The rider can have an application on his/her cell phone, which tracks each of the AVs, and contact them using the application on the cell phone. In an example, the AV is configured for both on-track and off track operation with different operating parameters for on-track and off track, including speed, degree of autonomy, sensors used etc.

An automated on-vehicle rail vehicle control system has an on-vehicle set point value detection unit, an automated train operating system, a driving and braking unit, and additional sensors for detecting environment-related information. The on-vehicle set point value detection unit is configured to determine, based on on-vehicle positioning and map data as well as sensor data from the additional sensors, operative set point values for the control mode and the current driving mission of the rail vehicle. The automated train operating system is configured to generate driving and braking commands based on the set point values of the on-vehicle set point value detection unit. The driving and braking unit is configured to carry out traction and braking operations based on the driving and braking commands so determined. There are also described a rail vehicle and a method for the automated control of a rail vehicle.

A system comprises a first sensor on a first end of a vehicle and an on-board controller coupled to the first sensor. The first sensor is configured to detect a radio frequency (RF) signature of a marker along a guideway. The first sensor is a radar detection device. The on-board controller is configured to determine a first position of the vehicle on the guideway or a first distance from the position of the vehicle to a stopping location along the guideway based on at least the RF signature received from the first sensor. The marker is a metasurface plate comprising a first diffused element, a first retroreflector element, a first absorbing element and a second diffused element between the first retroreflector element and the first absorbing element.

A cart having a wheel, a drive motor coupled to the wheel such that an output of the drive motor causes the wheel to rotate and propel the cart, a cart-computing device communicatively coupled to the drive motor; and one or more sensors communicatively coupled to the cart-computing device, the one or more sensors generating one or more signals in response to a detected event. The cart-computing device receives a communication signal and electrical power via the wheel. The communication signal corresponds to one or more instructions for controlling an operation of the cart. The cart-computing device receives the one or more signals from the one or more sensors. The cart-computing device generates and transmits a control signal to the drive motor to cause the drive motor to operate based on at least one of the one or more signals generated by the one or more sensors or the communication signal.

A cart having a wheel, a drive motor coupled to the wheel such that an output of the drive motor causes the wheel to rotate and propel the cart, a cart-computing device communicatively coupled to the drive motor, wherein the cart-computing device generates a control signal to adjust the operation of the drive motor, and a sensor module communicatively coupled to the cart-computing device. The sensor module, in a first mode, generates a signal and transmits the signal to the cart-computing device in response to a detected event. The sensor module, in a second mode, transmits a first communication signal in response to the first communication signal generated by the cart-computing device. The sensor module, in a third mode, receives a second communication signal in response to a source external to the cart transmitting the second communication signal to the cart.