- A total of 50 companies and representatives of the scientific community and technology centres participate in the presentation of the “i-BOI” challenge.
- 2nd July is the deadline for submitting proposals for innovation under this initiative, which is developed in collaboration with the Valencian Innovation Agency.
The Minister for Territorial Policy, Public Works and Mobility, Arcadi España, has announced the commitment of Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana (FGV) to “detect, develop and implement substantial improvements in technologies, processes and organisation that optimise the management” of the transport networks in which it operates through innovation and digital transformation.
This commitment is materialised in the launch of the first process of Public Procurement of Innovative solutions (PPI), which FGV will develop in collaboration with the Valencian Innovation Agency (AVI), which the Minister thanked both for their participation in the project and their work of promoting the culture and innovation levers in the sphere of the Valencian Community.
“Public Procurement of Innovative solutions will play a key role in achieving a more sustainable and digital productive fabric and sectors, and more agile and efficient public bodies, which prioritise the use of new technologies for the benefit of all”, emphasised Arcadi España, who highlighted the initiatives that the department he heads and the AVI itself are carrying out to define innovative solutions to the challenges in terms of mobility, transport and infrastructures with the aim of “making them safer, more sustainable and smarter”.
The Minister for Territorial Policy, Public Works and Mobility has made these statements in the presentation of the i-BOI project, along with the second vice president of the AVI, Andrés García Reche, and the general secretary of the same entity, Olivia Estrella, in a technical online conference which was attended by 50 specialists from the scientific community, technology institutes and companies potentially interested in undertaking new developments.
For his part, the executive vice president of the Valencian Innovation Agency, Andrés García Reche, recalled that this entity already provides technical support to four ministries in the launch of Preliminary Market Consultations and will soon launch its own PPI initiatives in coordination with other departments of the regional government.
He also explained that the AVI has strengthened its support this year for the aid program for the PPI, focused on local authorities and companies, allocating 4.3 million euros in a single year, 26% more than the total of the funds allocated for this purpose in the last three years.
i-BOI Challenge
Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana (FGV) aims to optimise the operation of Metrovalencia and TRAM d’ Alacant train services by replacing the current system of communication of incidents to the drivers, based on paper orders, with another system that ensures the receipt, understanding and availability of access to this information and relevant orders.
At present, the work carried out in the vicinity of the tracks is communicated by paper, an aspect that generates both obstacles and delays in the daily work of FGV, as well as risks in the process of communication and control of the reception of these instructions.
Through this process of Public Procurement of Innovation, FGV aims to provide itself with an Intelligent Orders and Information Bulletin (i-BOI), which guarantees not only the reception and availability of notices, but also their understanding and effective compliance by train drivers through the incorporation of new technologies.
Preliminary market consultation
This first phase of the process involves the launch, with the support of the Agency, of a preliminary market consultation that will allow to survey the availability of the productive fabric to develop innovative solutions capable of responding to the challenge posed by Ferrocarrils, while analysing the technical and economic feasibility of such proposals. The deadline for submission will remain open until 2nd July.
The aim of this initiative is to improve, by means of an innovative system, the features of the current BOI, incorporating functionalities that make it possible to speed up the current communications management processes, and also to increase the safety assurances in the transport networks operated by FGV.
In this way, the new technological solution must establish a system for generating orders and information from the Command Post that guarantees access for the driver and provides a record of its reception and unequivocal understanding, without the need to transfer paper documents during relays.
In accordance with the specifications required by FGV, this tool will incorporate reminders; constant information updates, so that the driver of each convoy has the latest service updates; as well as a system for storing and reusing orders to ensure the traceability of communication and fill in the fault record with the defects identified.
The innovative solution could use Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence, natural language processing or intelligent video, among other technologies, according to Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana in the technical specification sheet of the consultation, available on the website of the AVI.
