Development of a warning system for repair crews about the approach of a train

Industry engagement with Samruk-Kazyna

The project objective is to develop a set of technical means designed to warn repair crews about the approach of a railway train, including areas not covered by cellular communications in order to avoid industrial injuries and accidents. The project will exploit a combination of low-cost wireless communication approaches for devices on the trains and rails. Additional wearable equipment will be developed for people who are working on the rails to enhance their safety. More specifically, the proposed system will incorporate the following characteristics:
1. Detection of train crossings using vibration sensors.
2. Use of long-range radio technology to allow transmission of sensing data over long distances.
3. Adhoc deployment of the system without requiring the prior existence of a monitoring or cellular telecommunication infrastructure.
4. A wearable short-range warning system for workers.

The project expected outputs are summarized as follows:
1. An IoT platform implementing a warning system for workers’ safety in railways. The system will consist of a number of sub-systems such as a long-range communication and signaling protocol, a vibration-based monitoring and communication device, a receiver gateway at the construction site, and a Bluetooth-based mesh network with a wearable device implementation. All the individual components will also be used for educational and training purposes as part of the IoT network lab. They will also constitute the know-how for future developments.
2. A number of publications in top-tier international conferences (IEEE Globecom, ICC, SECON, WCNC, WoWMoM, and ACM EWSN, Mobicom, MSWiM) and in high-impact factor journals such as the IEEE Internet of Things, ACM Transactions on IoT, Elsevier Computer Networks, Adhoc Networks, and Computer Communications.
3. Eventually a number of patents related to novel developments in railway safety.

The project will provide some technical innovations in the emerging area of IoT and wearables for railways. It will also develop a “know-how” in long range communication technologies for public safety applications. Apart from that, it will explore synergies between long range and short-range radio technologies. The project will also enhance the knowledge around IoT deployments and it will provide excellent practical knowledge and experience for young Kazakh researchers and students.
The developed system will be deployed in a real railway system and it will be used by Kazakh railways. The project is expected to enhance the workers’ security and safety and also reduce delays in train transits.