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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Main Authors: Laurent Ferrier, Hussein Ibrahim, Mohamad Issa, Adrian Ilinca
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-09-01
Series:Sensors
Subjects:
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.
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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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