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Digitaler Bahnhof Minden (Digital Railway Station Minden)

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Bahnhof Minden
© RailCampus

DiBaMi - Digital Railway Station Minden

Temi-Robot at the Wissenswerkstatt in Bielefeld
© Universität Bielefeld

DiBaMi – Digitaler Bahnhof Minden (Digital Railway Station Minden) is a project including measures to ensure a smooth flow of mobility and a pleasant stay at the railway station. Service robots assist passengers with luggage transport, provide information and increase passenger safety, especially at small railway stations.

The research is part of the RailCampus OWL network: Bielefeld University is leading the project and is cooperating with the OWL University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences and Paderborn University.

The project  is funded (2024-2027) as part of the EFRE/JTF programme NRW, REGIONALE Ostwestfalen-Lippe: Networked mobility and digital applications. The state of North Rhine-Westphalia is funding the project with 1.2 million euros.

EFRE JTF NRW MUNV Logo

Research Objectives

The project consists of four sub-projects:

  1. Service robots
    Most prominently, the development and trial use of service robots stands in the foreground at Minden station. The robots are designed to make boarding and disembarking easier for older passengers and passengers with limited mobility – by providing information on which connections and other means of transport are available, accompanying passengers to the next link in the mobility chain, such as a bus stop, and taking over their luggage. Service robots can also increase safety for rail travellers changing trains at deserted stations if they are equipped with emergency call buttons.
  2. Robot monitoring
    In another sub-project implemented by the universities of Paderborn and Bielefeld, methods are being developed to automatically monitor the condition of the robot and allow the machine to change its behaviour if, for example, the battery is running low. Possible operating and environmental conditions of the railway station are taken into account. The aim is to enable energy-efficient, robust operation.
  3. Showcase mobility hub Minden railway station
    In the sub-project ‘Schaufenster Mobilitätshub Bahnhof Minden’, the researchers identify and test additional use cases. Innovation scouts are being trained for the sub-project to drive forward the development of new solutions for sustainable mobility. Studies are being conducted to survey visitors to the station about the digital railway station. The surveys will be analysed in courses at the four participating universities, among other things. The railway station is to become a ‘third place’ for collaboration and extracurricular learning. An online portal supports this, while dialogue formats have citizens talking about their mobility needs and the innovations.
  4. Communication network
    A sub-project is also developing the technical communication network for the robots and the showcase station. The 4G/5G network of a telecommunications company is used for this. This will make it possible, for example, to onitor the operating status of a robot and its position in real time.

Project Partners

The research is part of the RailCampus OWL network. 

  • Bielefeld University (project lead),
  • OWL University of Applied Sciences and Arts,
  • Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences,
  • Paderborn University.
Logos der Uni Bielefeld, TH OWL ,HSBI und Uni Paderborn
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