Development and Validation of a Railway Safety System for Nordic Trains in Isolated Territories of Northern Quebec Based on IEEE 802.15.4 Protocol
Connected objects are deployed all over the world. Thus, they are contributing to improving communications. In urban areas, technological challenges are gradually being overcome, and advances in this area are exponential. Unfortunately, isolated territories such as northern Quebec do not beneficiate...
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Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2021-09-01
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Series: | Sensors |
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Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/21/18/6129 |
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author | Laurent Ferrier Hussein Ibrahim Mohamad Issa Adrian Ilinca |
author_facet | Laurent Ferrier Hussein Ibrahim Mohamad Issa Adrian Ilinca |
author_sort | Laurent Ferrier |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Connected objects are deployed all over the world. Thus, they are contributing to improving communications. In urban areas, technological challenges are gradually being overcome, and advances in this area are exponential. Unfortunately, isolated territories such as northern Quebec do not beneficiate from this technological progress. Yet, northern Quebec relies on abundant natural resources, with notably its huge hydroelectric dams and iron mines, and therefore, the region’s economic life revolves essentially around the exploitation of these resources and is heavily reliant on rail transportation. However, according to Transport Canada, 1246 railroad accidents were reported in 2019 to the Transportation Safety Board (TSB). Thirty-eight people described as trespassers lost their lives, and five railroad employees were fatally injured. In this context, we present the implementation of a security system in an isolated environment for employees intervening on the railroad track to warn them of the imminent arrival of a train. Due to the context of the isolated environment, i.e., without an electrical network, without internet, and without an LTE network, a solution for employees has been developed using a Zigbee telecommunication system and a connected watch. A case study on a train operating in a remote and isolated area in northern Quebec is presented to validate the performance of the proposed system based on an open-source and customizable solution. |
first_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:14:01Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-f6602712f8c8414d9422339f436308dc |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 1424-8220 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:14:01Z |
publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
publisher | MDPI AG |
record_format | Article |
series | Sensors |
spelling | doaj.art-f6602712f8c8414d9422339f436308dc2023-11-22T15:12:06ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202021-09-012118612910.3390/s21186129Development and Validation of a Railway Safety System for Nordic Trains in Isolated Territories of Northern Quebec Based on IEEE 802.15.4 ProtocolLaurent Ferrier0Hussein Ibrahim1Mohamad Issa2Adrian Ilinca3Wind Energy Research Laboratory, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC G5L 3A1, CanadaInstitut Technologique de la Maintenance Industrielle, Sept-Îles, QC G4R 5B7, CanadaInstitut Maritime du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC G5L 3A1, CanadaWind Energy Research Laboratory, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC G5L 3A1, CanadaConnected objects are deployed all over the world. Thus, they are contributing to improving communications. In urban areas, technological challenges are gradually being overcome, and advances in this area are exponential. Unfortunately, isolated territories such as northern Quebec do not beneficiate from this technological progress. Yet, northern Quebec relies on abundant natural resources, with notably its huge hydroelectric dams and iron mines, and therefore, the region’s economic life revolves essentially around the exploitation of these resources and is heavily reliant on rail transportation. However, according to Transport Canada, 1246 railroad accidents were reported in 2019 to the Transportation Safety Board (TSB). Thirty-eight people described as trespassers lost their lives, and five railroad employees were fatally injured. In this context, we present the implementation of a security system in an isolated environment for employees intervening on the railroad track to warn them of the imminent arrival of a train. Due to the context of the isolated environment, i.e., without an electrical network, without internet, and without an LTE network, a solution for employees has been developed using a Zigbee telecommunication system and a connected watch. A case study on a train operating in a remote and isolated area in northern Quebec is presented to validate the performance of the proposed system based on an open-source and customizable solution.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/21/18/6129isolated environmentIT modelzigbeeIOTdoppler effectfading channel |
spellingShingle | Laurent Ferrier Hussein Ibrahim Mohamad Issa Adrian Ilinca Development and Validation of a Railway Safety System for Nordic Trains in Isolated Territories of Northern Quebec Based on IEEE 802.15.4 Protocol Sensors isolated environment IT model zigbee IOT doppler effect fading channel |
title | Development and Validation of a Railway Safety System for Nordic Trains in Isolated Territories of Northern Quebec Based on IEEE 802.15.4 Protocol |
title_full | Development and Validation of a Railway Safety System for Nordic Trains in Isolated Territories of Northern Quebec Based on IEEE 802.15.4 Protocol |
title_fullStr | Development and Validation of a Railway Safety System for Nordic Trains in Isolated Territories of Northern Quebec Based on IEEE 802.15.4 Protocol |
title_full_unstemmed | Development and Validation of a Railway Safety System for Nordic Trains in Isolated Territories of Northern Quebec Based on IEEE 802.15.4 Protocol |
title_short | Development and Validation of a Railway Safety System for Nordic Trains in Isolated Territories of Northern Quebec Based on IEEE 802.15.4 Protocol |
title_sort | development and validation of a railway safety system for nordic trains in isolated territories of northern quebec based on ieee 802 15 4 protocol |
topic | isolated environment IT model zigbee IOT doppler effect fading channel |
url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/21/18/6129 |
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