Technological Revamping Ropeways

Like all sectors, the ropeway transport sector has also been hit by the Digital Revolution in recent years.
Unlike others, however, this sector still today uses some analogue technologies with consequent areas of inefficiency which, on the occasion of the twenty-year review which involved the Cortina d’Ampezzo (Faloria) and Buissson-Chamois cable cars, required the management companies to proceed with a technological revamping of on-board systems towards digital, with particular reference to video surveillance, audio communication and data transmission of the vehicle safety PLCs.
Regardless of the individual specificities, the managers’ request was the same: a revamping that would guarantee resilience and operational continuity of the systems.
However, the traditional systems used in the cableway world, although guaranteeing stability, had a major flaw in terms of bandwidth transmission speed and did not allow them to be updated efficiently.
To this end, the Cisco IoT solution was selected which allowed the creation of a new communication system based on a wireless network using unlicensed frequencies, guaranteeing end over or end off or cell change during the movement of the car on the route without lose connectivity: fundamental aspects for the transmission of safety signals (door closing, brake status, door opening), also linked to on-board systems and passenger safety.
The project developed by our team involved the updating of systems typical of people transport on ropes, such as security cameras in the parking area, external cameras to monitor the running line and an audio system for communication, including emergency between passengers and the control room, and also systems that allow the management of all on-board safety from the ground with the possibility of intervening with restores in the event of a system shutdown.

At the link you can see the Video of the CISCO Case Study with the intervention of the engineer. Mario Pasquino, CIO of our Group.