Passenger flow at the train station: multimodal transport plateform
3Dswipe for SNCF
Virtual real-time 3D model of urban constructions
In light of the improvement of Dijon’s train station’s disabled accessibility, SNCF entrusts 3Dswipe with the production of an interactive digital 3D model giving a global view of the project and highlighting the upcoming structural changes.
Developed and optimized for impactful dynamic presentations on a touch-PC, the whole train station is in real-time 3D, and allows users to freely move through the 3D scene.
Video recording from the real-time 3D application
Project and dynamic strategy management
- Innovative decision-making tool aimed at politics and investors, specifically made to rally potential partners to the project
- Communication tool intended to help associations validate the future impact on mobility
- Collaborative tool for technical project teams
- Presentation tool designed for the general public, allowing a quick grasp of the upcoming improvements, and higher acceptance of constructions constraints
Adding and editing dynamic characters in real-time 3D
Pedestrians, cars and public transportation: the whole station is fully animated
Urban 3D model:
3000m² of real-time 3D urban simulation
The 3D modeling covers the entirety of Dijon’s train station as well as its surrounding blocks.
The model represent the digital and interactive version of the train station, including its train rails, platforms, ramps, stairs, elevators, halls, hallways, undergrounds, etc. It also includes all road accesses, parking, bridges and surrounding buildings: everything has been reproduced in order to have an overall view of the various ways people get to the train station.
In order to increase realism, 3Dswipe modelled and animated the whole model and all of its transportation systems (tram, bus, cars, bicycles, etc.), as well as a great number of characters which transforms the 3D model into a true flow simulation of various types of passengers.
A comprehensive presentation tool
The 3D model highlights future structural modifications within the train station and allows SNCF to navigate in different ways in order to present what best fits each audience: politics, investors, associations and general public.
To enable full freedom of display, 3Dswipe developed the following tools:
- 3D flight mode: an aerial view of the whole scene with complete freedom of navigation, made to have an overview of the installations from every angle
- Static 360° views: a human-height 360° view, created dynamically and by pin-dropping in any part of the train station
- Dynamic views: first-person view of a passenger route between 2 designated points on the 3D model
- Custom itinerary: creation and display of the route of a pre-selected type of passenger between two points (8 types available)
3Dswipe for SNCF: a powerful and feature-loaded application
Aerial view
Custom itinerary
Dynamic subjective view
Aerial view, hidden roofs, to visualize the flow of travelers in the underground
Real time dynamic creation of virtual tours
The systems calculates the shortest itinerary a pedestrian will take and allows the creation of custom on-the-spot virtual tours depending on each audience.
Alongside this dynamic function, a series of display modes are available: the user can hide roofs to see how people flow through the train station (full view, ground floor, undergrounds)
Technical tools have also been integrated in order to evaluate spaces created by the new structural modifications made for smoother passenger flow:
- Distance measurements
- Slope measurements
The whole neighborhood comes to life: flow simulation
In order to ensure great realism, the whole 3D ecosystem is animated: cars, buses, trams, trains and pedestrians are moving respectfully to real life.
Trains (TGV, TER, etc.) each pass through their respected platforms, cars follow the driving code and road priorities, trams respect real directions, buses let people get on and off at bus stops, and all of these vehicles drop and pick passengers up at Dijon’s train station.
In addition to the overall view of the train station and its future structural changes, the tools is a true flow simulation system. The system displays passengers flow at the arrival of trains and highlights the impact the new layouts have on the overall ability to easily move from one side of the train station to the other
Realistic tracking of pedestrians’ arrival at the station
In order for the 3D model ecosystem to be as close as reality as possible, several types of pedestrians are displayed: men, women, heavily charged passengers, handicapped people, women with strollers, elderlies, etc. Everything has been designed to represent the general types of passengers passing through the train station, which allows SNCF to showcase the impact of future improvements to a wide range of associations.
Peak and off-peak time function has also been added so as to simulate peaks of visitors during a typical day and witness the evolution of passenger flows. During rush hours, more pedestrians are displayed within the train station, and the frequency of vehicles coming and leaving the station is also increased in order to portray to current station’s affluence: Dijon accounts for 16 000 daily visitors.
Artificial Intelligence turns the 3D model into a smart tool
3Dswipe developed and gave passengers an Artificial Intelligence allowing them to walk around the train station, avoiding the bump into each other, and making decisions over the best itinerary depending on their capabilities. Passengers make real-time decisions to catch their train or hop in their preferred mean of transportation.
Autonomous creation of scenarios: SNCF can dynamically and instantaneously, add various types of pedestrians and give them start and finish points on the 3D model.
Thanks to the Artificial Intelligence, users can select a type of traveler, add it to the model, give them an objective, launch the animated scenario, and view the character pick the best path towards the objective. Thus, someone with reduced mobility will opt for the elevator whereas a businessman running late will run towards the escalator, and the woman with the stroller will choose the ramp to get to the train.
A living model
Visualization of the routes chosen by the artificial intelligence system for each type of traveler
Tool scalability: touch table & Virtual Reality (VR)
The 3D model was initially used as presentation tool prior to the actual project launch, then as a decision-making and collaborative tool throughout its milestones. The tool has also been designed to raise awareness of the general public towards the goals of the construction, allowing passengers to accept its constraints more easily.
Installed on a touch table in the train station’s hall, the interactive 3D model will be used to understand the stakes of current constructions.
Additional evolutions are currently imagined and enabled by 3Dswipe technology: full immersion in Virtual Reality (VR), to make visitors dive into the digital version of the future train station and visit it in an innovative way.
