by Claire Hsu | Aug 10, 2020 | Announcements
SAN JOSE, Calif., August 10, 2020 — LILEE Systems announced the launch of self-driving bus operations in Tainan, the second largest city in southern Taiwan. This will be the first revenue-generating service of autonomous rapid transit (ART) in Taiwan supported by the central and local governments. In July 2020, LILEE Systems received the autonomous vehicle license plate to run self-driving buses on public streets for two bus lines. Through the ART project, LILEE Systems will support the Tainan City Government to enhance and expand its public transportation network. “Autonomous technology will lead a revolutionary change to the city’s transportation systems,” said Huang Wei-Cher, Mayor of Tainan. “The smart transportation initiative will help us improve overall road safety, operational efficiency, and rural area transportation services.” “Through continuous safety validation of self-driving technology, autonomous rapid transit (ART) will be a cost-effective alternative to traditional mass rapid transit (MRT) systems for cities like Tainan,” said Kung Ming-Hsin, Minister of National Development Council. “From a public infrastructure perspective, this new approach can not only reduce deployment costs by half but also serve twice as many citizens. The pioneering innovation of ART will provide a safer, more efficient, and more accessible transportation network and become the pride of Taiwan.” “Thanks to the support from the governments and our partners, we are glad to bring a conceptual technology to a Level-4 autonomous bus solution,” said Jia-Ru Li, CEO of LILEE Systems. “We believe ART will become the new mode of public transportation in the coming years, solving urban transportation challenges such as driver shortages and increasing operational costs.” The Tainan self-driving buses on virtual tracks are centrally...
by Claire Hsu | Jul 13, 2020 | Announcements
SAN JOSE, Calif., July 14, 2020 — LILEE Systems, the leading provider of advanced wireless connectivity solutions for the transportation industry, today announced the Next Generation Communications Management Unit solution that enables wireless communications security and interoperable key exchange for the ACSES II Positive Train Control system, a form of PTC implemented by Northeast Corridor railroads. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) requires wireless communications security for PTC messages as stated in 49 CFR § 236.1033. The LILEE Systems Next Generation Communications Management Unit solution is the first FRA-compliant solution on the market helping railroads meet the requirement before the end-of-year PTC deadline. It is a new addition to LILEE’s extensive portfolio of PTC solutions, with security software for wayside and onboard systems, Key Management System (KMS) for inter-rail key exchange, and a ruggedized gateway—TransAir™ STS-2025—for remote management. Field-tested for system reliability, compatibility, and scalability following FRA-approved specifications, the solution ensures that wireless communications on the ACSES II PTC network are resistant and resilient to cyber attacks. The Northeast Corridor serves 80,000 travelers daily and are shared among several passenger and freight railroads. Interoperability is the top consideration when it comes to wireless security solutions due to its complex host-tenant relationships. By centrally managing and distributing cryptography-based keys, the LILEE Systems Next Generation Communications Management Unit solution ensures wireless security while achieving the required interoperability. It has also been selected by one of the largest passenger rail systems on the Corridor. “LILEE Systems is committed to supporting railroads and public transit authorities with PTC system development and implementations,” said Yale Lee, Co-founder and Vice President of Technology at LILEE Systems. “By delivering the interoperable...
by Claire Hsu | May 12, 2020 | blog
The first 49 CFR 236.1033-compliant solution on the market: LILEE Systems Solution for Wireless Security and Key Management In 2008, the United States Congress mandated Positive Train Control (PTC) for most passenger and freight trains. Forty-two railroads are subject to the statutory mandate to implement PTC. Railroads are required to have PTC fully implemented by December 31, 2020. The Advanced Civil Speed Enforcement System (ACSES) is a vital overlay system which, in combination with automatic train control (ATC), constitutes one of two major PTC systems and has been implemented by the Northeast Corridor (NEC) passenger rail operators. As of today, all NEC operators face major challenges associated with obtaining viable solutions for secure wireless communication to comply with the PTC requirements of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). Originally, the NEC implementation of PTC lacked two major requirements—wireless link security and interoperability. The FRA reports that software issues related to these two requirements are the biggest roadblock. Fulfilling these mandates requires research and development, implementation, integration, and testing and commissioning (T&C) of an authentication and integrity check method and an interoperable key management technique. LILEE Systems is the first vendor to offer a complete solution that meets and exceeds all the security and interoperability requirements and that provides the best path to meeting the December 2020 PTC deadline. Security challenges that must be addressed From the regulatory perspective, the challenge is how to comply with requirements for wireless security as defined in 49 CFR 236.1033. This regulation requires that all wireless communications between the office, wayside, and onboard components in a PTC system provide cryptographic message integrity and authentication. The problem,...
by Claire Hsu | Mar 25, 2020 | blog
In 2018, the Taiwanese government started to test the autonomous rapid transit (ART) concept through proof-of-service trials. Thousands of people experienced a 9-meter autonomous bus on a fixed bus route in Taichung, the second largest city in Taiwan, with a speed of up to 30 km/h. ART opens a new possibility of autonomous driving and will enable the first commercial use of the automated transit. Beginnings The early-stage business case for autonomous cars was based on a belief that computer-controlled cars will reduce traffic congestion and accidents by eliminating human errors. Unfortunately, technology has yet to demonstrate driverless cars’ ability to respond to a real-world traffic challenge. Technology giants and automotive industry continue to promise solutions, and the availability target is moving further and further into the future. At the beginning, unmanned personal cars on the road would likely do more harm than good to the already worsening urban traffic. Besides, building an autonomous vehicle from scratch is expensive. When required sensors and autonomous driving systems are added to a new $30,000 car, the final price can easily reach $130,000. Purchasing an autonomous car might not be realistic until required technology cost can be lower. In the end, city governments and the public still struggle to justify the real benefits of driverless cars, resulting in the delay of adoption. Safety LILEE Systems’ ART concept comes from the railway industry and is based upon rail-safety principles. Autonomous buses run on a virtual track, monitored by a centralized operational control center in real time with a fail-safe system. That means, each action taken by the autonomous bus has to be confirmed...
by Claire Hsu | Mar 23, 2020 | Announcements
SAN JOSE, Calif., March 23, 2020 — LILEE Systems, the leading provider of self-driving technologies and system integrations, announces its partnership with the Tainan City Government to launch the city’s first revenue-generating self-driving bus program. LILEE’s self-driving bus will begin to serve two business areas of the fifth largest city in Taiwan later this year, a milestone in the city’s two-year smart transportation development plan. The Tainan City Government and LILEE Systems expect to start revenue services in the second half of 2020 on two business routes. The city plans to open up more public roads for autonomous vehicles operations after safety verification and performance evaluation. The Autonomous Rapid Transit (ART) system will continue to mature based on riders’ feedback and ongoing technology development. LILEE conducted a self-driving proof-of-concept in 2018 and a proof-of-service in 2019 and demonstrated high passenger satisfaction and reliable operations. Based on rail-control principles, the bus will run on fixed bus routes, remotely managed by a cloud-based, centralized operations control center (OCC) for an added layer of safety. The success proved that ART enhances safety and passenger experience in public transportation compared to LRT (light rail transit) and BRT (bus rapid transit). Backed by its successful demonstration, the Tainan City Government selected LILEE to lead the city’s first self-driving bus project. “The autonomous bus project opens new opportunities for our city of ample technology resources to cultivate driverless research and development on artificial intelligence, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications, high-definition maps, robotics and remote control,” said Ming-Te Wang, director of Bureau of Transportation, Tainan City Government. “We look forward to the partnership with LILEE Systems to enhance the current public transportation system...
