At the exhibition of digital and robotic solutions for transport, everyone could look at the technologies existing here and now, as well as those available in the near future. The forum program included lectures, several plenary discussions and round tables. The newest and most advanced solutions were discussed at the pitching session, where more than 30 teams from all over Russia presented their developments.
Our expert, Gleb Leonov, Head of Modern Automation and Artificial Intelligence at First Bit.NFP, was invited to join the jury to evaluate the solutions presented.
We asked Gleb to tell us about the most interesting projects and his overall impression of the forum.
- The event is incredibly positive. On the one hand, it is representative. Among the guests of honor are Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media Maksut Shadaev, Deputy Minister of Transport, and many top managers. On the other hand, it was quite creative: there were a lot of young people, among them guys-developers in sweaters, informals. The main thing is that everyone was happy and cozy.
- Were you happy with the organization?
- Yes. I'm usually very demanding about organizational moments, but in this case everything was at a very high level. Convenient registration, good support for the speakers, competent zoning inside. Special thanks to the moderators of our session, Sergey Votyakov and Assiyat Misirova, for the perfect observance of timings.
- That is, no disadvantages at all?
- Probably, yes. We had one oddity: the session was devoted to startups, but no one, or almost no one, was looking for funding. That is, simply put, no one asked for money. For an investor who came here looking for assets, this is a minus. On the other hand, for the industry, having 30 fairly mature startups that have already secured funding is a definite plus.
- Could you single out anything in particular?
- First of all, I must say that after the jury's assessment, a rating of the companies and their products was formed. Both the organizers and the jury members have this rating, and it is quite objective. Speaking in general:
A lot of well-developed applied solutions. For example, a laser stand for measuring the profile of wheelsets was presented. The technology makes it possible to quickly, and most importantly accurately, recognize the thickness of the layer to be flaked when servicing a pair. On average, the technology gives a saving of 1.5 mm per one maintenance cycle, which leads to one "additional" period of operation (10-20% increase in the life of the wheelset).
There have been several AI-based solutions for driver crash analytics at once. Some solve this problem by collecting historical data and biometrics, and others by collecting vehicle motion metrics (velocity, acceleration, change in angular parameters, popularly "rotation").
A range of solutions offer different aspects of electronic document management. The most technologically complex solution, requiring distributed ledger (blockchain) technology, is the transition to electronic bill of lading. Those familiar with maritime logistics will immediately tell you what place this document occupies in the pantheon. Nowadays it can take several days to execute a bill of lading, but with the transition to electronic form, days will turn into hours. The difference in one day, taking into account the cost of ship idle time and the tariff of the port can be measured in tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars.
There were solutions close to the subject of simulation modeling, which I have been doing quite a lot lately. I managed to find a moment to discuss with my colleagues over coffee a model of passenger flows on a nationwide scale, taking into account all major modes of transportation. Given that the project is being developed under the auspices of Russian Railways, we can be optimistic about its further development.
I am sure that specialists in the field of logistics have long since put this event on the calendar, so I will address my colleagues (not only from First Bit). This and similar platforms are created for networking, exchange of ideas, search for new solutions. If you need to broaden your horizons, find like-minded people or partners, or simply keep your finger on the pulse of the industry, you will definitely not waste your time by attending the forum.
- The event is incredibly positive. On the one hand, it is representative. Among the guests of honor are Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media Maksut Shadaev, Deputy Minister of Transport, and many top managers. On the other hand, it was quite creative: there were a lot of young people, among them guys-developers in sweaters, informals. The main thing is that everyone was happy and cozy.
- Were you happy with the organization?
- Yes. I'm usually very demanding about organizational moments, but in this case everything was at a very high level. Convenient registration, good support for the speakers, competent zoning inside. Special thanks to the moderators of our session, Sergey Votyakov and Assiyat Misirova, for the perfect observance of timings.
- That is, no disadvantages at all?
- Probably, yes. We had one oddity: the session was devoted to startups, but no one, or almost no one, was looking for funding. That is, simply put, no one asked for money. For an investor who came here looking for assets, this is a minus. On the other hand, for the industry, having 30 fairly mature startups that have already secured funding is a definite plus.
- Could you single out anything in particular?
- First of all, I must say that after the jury's assessment, a rating of the companies and their products was formed. Both the organizers and the jury members have this rating, and it is quite objective. Speaking in general:
A lot of well-developed applied solutions. For example, a laser stand for measuring the profile of wheelsets was presented. The technology makes it possible to quickly, and most importantly accurately, recognize the thickness of the layer to be flaked when servicing a pair. On average, the technology gives a saving of 1.5 mm per one maintenance cycle, which leads to one "additional" period of operation (10-20% increase in the life of the wheelset).
There have been several AI-based solutions for driver crash analytics at once. Some solve this problem by collecting historical data and biometrics, and others by collecting vehicle motion metrics (velocity, acceleration, change in angular parameters, popularly "rotation").
A range of solutions offer different aspects of electronic document management. The most technologically complex solution, requiring distributed ledger (blockchain) technology, is the transition to electronic bill of lading. Those familiar with maritime logistics will immediately tell you what place this document occupies in the pantheon. Nowadays it can take several days to execute a bill of lading, but with the transition to electronic form, days will turn into hours. The difference in one day, taking into account the cost of ship idle time and the tariff of the port can be measured in tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars.
There were solutions close to the subject of simulation modeling, which I have been doing quite a lot lately. I managed to find a moment to discuss with my colleagues over coffee a model of passenger flows on a nationwide scale, taking into account all major modes of transportation. Given that the project is being developed under the auspices of Russian Railways, we can be optimistic about its further development.
I am sure that specialists in the field of logistics have long since put this event on the calendar, so I will address my colleagues (not only from First Bit). This and similar platforms are created for networking, exchange of ideas, search for new solutions. If you need to broaden your horizons, find like-minded people or partners, or simply keep your finger on the pulse of the industry, you will definitely not waste your time by attending the forum.