A Bright Idea Scores

The light emitting platform edge of the SIUT GmbH is not only groundbreaking, it also serves to safety by warning passengers at train stations and thus helps minimizing hazards. For this idea, the jury awarded the DEKRA Award 2018 in the category “Safety on the road”.

The glowing platform edge is already being tested at Bad Cannstatt station near Stuttgart. Photo: Andreas Techel

Pushing on full platforms is not only unpleasant, it also entails risks. SIUT GmbH with its illuminated platform edge shows how this danger can be countered in advance. It has a warning function and at the same time acts as a signpost. Even before the train arrives, the passengers already know where doors are and where there are free places.

Benjamin Westerheide, Vincent Genz and Jörn Reinhold (left to right) from SIUT GmbH make concrete shine. Photo: Norbert Böwing

The idea of SIUT GmbH was born in Berlin, where the two managing directors Vincent Genz and Benjamin Westerheide studied at the Technical University. Today they produce the smart panels in the test hall of the Institute of Civil Engineering. “The technology is based on a special concrete formulation and fiber optic cables,” explains Westerheide. “but our big secret is the way in which we manage to arrange the optical fibres in such a way that a certain pattern appears on the surface afterwards”.

In addition to the concrete formulation, the arrangement of the fibre optic cables is also a trade secret. Photo: Norbert Böwing

The idea is already being tested at Bad Cannstatt station. And it is not only Deutsche Bahn that is interested in the glowing platform edge. “The interest comes from railway operators and other companies in the area,” says Vincent Genz. In principle, it is also possible to use the panels equipped with LEDs and fiber optic cables in other areas. Jörn Reinhold, responsible for marketing and sales at SIUT GmbH, mentions approaches: “In conurbations, traffic reaches its capacity limits. With our system we can spread mobility and contribute to relief and more security.”