The objective of the Research Project is to carry out an experiment to assess the feasibility of implementing a proprietary 5G infrastructure that will take into account the interaction with any pre-existing connectivity systems (e.g. Wi-Fi) in RFI railway stations. During the Project, the application areas and types of services to be offered will be evaluated, as well as the technological interventions to be carried out to set up test sites on the Italian railway network.
The project will be divided into four Work Packages (WP):
- WP1 – Study of business requirements. WP1 will focus on analysing the requirements of 5G networks needed to meet the different services that can be provided in a railway station.
- WP2 – Technical Characteristics of the Infrastructure. WP2 concerns the implementation of a Proof of Concept that involves the design of a functional 5G network for the development of services supporting the railway infrastructure, to be implemented within a station owned by RFI. In particular, the design of the network and the subsequent experimentation will be oriented towards the provision of railway diagnostics services for in-station monitoring, and the implementation of a service for passengers of assisted guidance in station travel for the blind through the use of indoor positioning solutions.
- WP3 – Model preparation. In the third WP, a scalable model for the definition of a proprietary infrastructure for the provision of 5G services in different railway stations will be prepared.
- WP4 – Demonstrator Validation and Testing. WP4 represents the testing of a private network for diagnostic 5G services and a public 5G network with the aid of a sensor network for indoor positioning guidance services for the blind within a specific station.