AI at the SOB ensures increased customer service

The evaluation of existing video images enables Südostbahn to continuously adapt its trains to the needs of passengers.

Like many Swiss railroads, Südostbahn (SOB) faces the challenge that its trains are used by commuters, day trippers and tourists, depending on the day of the week and time of day. Each customer segment has different requirements for the parking spaces on the train. At peak times, commuters expect as many seats as possible and space for one or two bicycles. At off-peak times, baby carriages and luggage such as skis and paragliders are added to this. International travelers, on the other hand, need space for their heavy suitcases - and want to keep an eye on them as much as possible.
In collaboration with Südostbahn (SOB), we have developed an artificial intelligence system capable of accurately identifying and categorizing various types of luggage through surveillance camera footage. This pioneering project is now being rolled out on a large scale by SOB.

Together with Südostbahn, we have trained an artificial intelligence to recognize and categorize different types of luggage from surveillance camera footage. The project is now being rolled out on a large scale by the SOB and our video analysis uses the existing surveillance cameras in the trains. The AI works autonomously in each train, evaluates the video images in real time and transmits the results to a server. The analysis is therefore completely anonymous at all times and meets the highest data protection requirements - both in Switzerland and in the EU.

Until now, public transport operators had to install various sensors to count different objects, which had limited expandability and a short life cycle as hardware. Our video analysis makes this obsolete.

The potential benefits for public transport customers are great. Existing occupancy forecasts will become more accurate and may also include luggage areas in the future. In addition, the precise data enables the forward-looking adaptation of configurable compartments, which the SOB is currently testing.

ASE is a pioneer in the field of video analysis and artificial intelligence. We are proud to be able to promote public transport with these new technologies. In addition to SOB, Deutsche Bahn is equipping up to 100 stations with our system. We are carrying out another proof of concept for Verkehrsbetriebe Frankfurt. Further projects are underway with the Zurich transport company, the Zentralbahn and the Rhaetian Railway.