The National Centre for Research and Development

High-speed railroad crossings are the near future. The magrail system, which uses passive magnetic levitation, allows speeds of up to 550 km/h (by comparison, the speed of the French TGV is 300 km/h). Magrail is a system based on the use of existing railway tracks. This hybrid solution allows both magnetic vehicles and conventional trains to run on the same tracks, thus increasing the competitiveness of sustainable rail transport. Polish company Nevomo is currently working on a full-scale test track of the technology.

The support obtained from the Fast Track competition has significantly accelerated our work in the R&D sector. Thanks to it, Europe's longest passive levitation test track (on which our magrail technology is based) is being constructed on land belonging to Ciech Sarzyna in the Podkarpackie Province. A grant from NCRD also allowed us to develop IoT systems and advance discussions with Polish railway companies to test and commercialise these solutions, Kasia Foljanty, CBO and co-founder of Nevomo, said.

This invention has already had its première and has even gone on the tracks! 50 trams from the Moderus Gamma family have found their way into the fleet of the Municipal Transport Company in Poznań, and next year the new vehicles from this manufacturer will be available to travellers in Łódź.

Innovative, energy-efficient and low-floor. Such is Moderus Gamma, a tram manufactured by Modertrans Poznań. It is Poland's first single-unit fully low-floor tram. Its length is just under 15 metres, but according to the manufacturer, this is enough to accommodate many modern developments.

Most important, and invisible at first glance, is the drive train, which uses transistors made of silicon carbide (SiC). They provide greater energy savings, a smoother ride and remove the noise associated with traditional transistors. The tram also has a braking energy recovery system. The energy lost in this way is stored and then used during start-up or autonomous driving when powered by the contact line. Gamma can travel over 2 kilometres using energy stored in supercapacitors.

The entire vehicle is air-conditioned. In addition to the storage and efficient use of energy, the tram uses an industry-innovative cooling system covering both the passenger and driver's areas. The carbon dioxide used for air conditioning does not require disposal, is environmentally neutral and non-flammable, thus it is safe.

The vehicle of the future is a safe vehicle, which is why Modertrans has incorporated driver assistance systems in the tram. These include an anti-collision system, a tram driver exhaustion sensor and a breathalyser (if positive, a tram driver will not be allowed to drive). Information boards, voice passenger information, ramps for people with disabilities and prams, communication with the driver through an intercom system, USB chargers, are just some of the systems that improve travel comfort for all passengers, including those with disabilities.

- When applying to NCRD within the Demonstrator+ competition, our offer included trams from the Moderus Alfa (high-floor) and Moderus Beta (partially low-floor) families. -We were working on the design of a modern 100% low-floor tram, but this was only the conceptual phase, with a few visualisations. Receiving funding from NCRD allowed the work on this project to be significantly accelerated. We invited the Poznań University of Technology to cooperate with us and, as a scientific consortium, we implemented the project. The three years of the project were a time of very intensive work. Developing different concepts, meetings with suppliers, laboratory tests, brainstorming, movement tests etc. were our daily routine. But it was worth it, because we created a modern tram which, according to PP research, is the most comfortable tram in Poland.

Thanks to the design and construction of the Moderus Gamma model, we were able to take part in the tender procedure announced by Municipal Transport Company in Poznań. We won the contract, the knowledge and experience from the Demonstrator+ project were put to good use and now 50 Moderus Gamma are carrying passengers in Poznań. These are trams from the same family, but due to specific customer requirements they differ from the prototype," Maciej Kin, head of logistics at Modertrans Poznań sp. z o.o. said.

They used the experience gained in cooperation with NCRD to implement the Innotech III (tram trolleys) and Fast Track (tram) projects. The Fast Track project was completed in June this year. The result is Poland's first single-unit 100% low-floor tram. Packed with a range of amenities to improve safety and comfort.

The assumption is simple: unfold it and set off ahead, unafraid of rough terrain and exhaustion.  It is handy, environmentally friendly, well designed and guarantees efficient movement around town.  JIVR is a smart, chainless, folding electric assist bike manufactured in Mielec.

JIVR is the equipment for those who, until now, have not considered a bicycle when moving around the city, e.g. due to riding comfort and the fear of screwing their trouser legs or a piece of skirt into the chain.

In addition to its functionality (it folds down to the size of a small suitcase), it is also a "smart" piece of equipment - when connected to a smartphone, it informs you of route parameters, speed and charge level. Ride Assistant automatically determines when the rider needs support and starts the motor in the front wheel.

Is this the future for urban cycling? Certainly this is an alternative for those who until now could not imagine travelling to work using two wheels.

What’s next? At present, the company is developing the project with the support of the Invento Capital sp. z o.o. fund, subsidised under the Bridge Alpha programme, implemented by the NCRD. The aim of the project is to develop a full-sized electric bike - the JIVR Cruiser equipped with the JIVR Senses electronic system, with a range of 100 km on a single charge and a top speed of up to 45km/h. 

More about the support in BRIdge Alfa and BRIdge VC programmes and the support for startups offered by European Funds from the Intelligent Development Programme https://www.gov.pl/web/ncbr/bridge-alfa

Artificial intelligence, 3D cameras, gesture recognition systems for drivers - among other things, these are the things that engineers from the Aptiv Technical Centre in Kraków are working on. This global technology company  is developing a system aimed at the safety and energy efficiency of electric vehicles. This is a step towards autonomous motoring, in which the vehicle moves without the driver's intervention.

The Interior Sensing Platform is a solution that, through the use of artificial intelligence, monitors the interior of the car and, using sensors, controls whether the driver is looking at the road or whether, for example, their gaze is focused on their smartphone. When the system detects a safety hazard, such as a driver closing his eyes or falling asleep, it will notify him accordingly and suggest a break from driving. And in the event of dangerously fast approaching an obstacle in the road, it will start braking earlier.

Of course, such solutions carry risks, such as hacker attacks. This is why Aptiv's project, implemented with the support of European Funds from the Intelligent Development Programme, places emphasis on cyber security.

The first of the project's four phases - industrial research - has already been carried out and the company has made significant progress in developing an Intelligent Body Control Module with Secure Gateway, a specialised communication module to connect the vehicle to the smart grid (Vehicle to Grid Getaway) and a Keyless Vehicle Access System. These advanced technologies aim to increase the safety and energy efficiency of electric vehicles. Initial results have shown that the modules can provide significant energy savings, reducing the standby current consumption of the modules by 50%, which translates to a reduction in standby current consumption of around 8-10% across the vehicle.

Thanks to a grant from the National Centre for Research and Development, we are accelerating work on innovative technologies that securely connect next-generation hybrid and electric vehicles to the power grid, thus fulfilling our mission to provide mobility with greater safety, ecology and connectivity," said Grzegorz Gutmajer, Regional Engineering Director at Aptiv.

“The future is happening here" is a statement that guides NCRD's activities. We help entrepreneurs and scientists turn their bold ideas into breakthrough products, services and technologies that bring about change for the better in various fields. Many of these bold ideas have gone beyond state-of-the-art R&D centres and laboratories to become real products and services. We want to show that they were invented with the idea that we should all use them on a daily basis,” - Director of NCRD Wojciech Kamieniecki, Ph. D. said.  

We are launching a campaign to showcase innovative products and solutions that improve our everyday lives. Every month, under the common slogan "Invented for you", the Centre's website and social media will present inventions that were created with the support of NCRD and European Funds.