Following the introduction of so-called 'autonomous gondolas', which can operate without staff at both the upper and lower station, Austrian and Swiss government authorities are reported to have granted permission for certain chairlifts equipped with the same remote operating facilities to go into service.
The autonomous operating lift model is being pushed by the world's largest ski lift company, Doppelmayr, who launched their autonomous AURO systems for gondola lifts back in 2020.
"As well as ensuring a high level of safety, this innovative system saves lift operators up to 35 percent in personnel costs," a Doppelmayr spokesperson enthused.
The company revealed that the Swiss Federal Office of Transport and the Federal Ministry of Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology in Austria each granted operating licenses for the autonomous operation of two chairlifts at the start of this season, with pilot installations at Wildhaus in Switzerland and in the Silvretta-Montafon ski area shared by Ischgl and Samnaun on the Austrian/Swiss border.
Autonomous chairlifts work in a similar way to autonomous gondolas, with one operator required at the base of the lift or even in a separate building. With the Doppelmayr AURO-CLD system, he or she is AI-assisted with software constantly analysing and evaluating location, image and video data in real time, and to trigger automatic responses, the company says, adding,
"The system identifies hazardous situations in the unloading area at the top station in fractions of a second and decides autonomously, depending on the situation, whether the installation can continue to operate, should be slowed or shut down."
As with AURO for gondola lifts, troubleshooting can be performed by one person from the Ropeway Operation Center (ROC) housed in the bottom station or in a separate building.
"Growing personnel shortages are increasing the pressure on operating companies when it comes to guaranteeing the availability of their lift installations. This is where AURO-CLD helps to alleviate the problem and can reduce the personnel requirements for a standard installation by up to 50 percent ….One employee can supervise several AURO chairlift installations. In addition, existing ropeways can be retrofitted with the appropriate equipment to make them AURO-compatible," Doppelmayr say.