Thursday, April 22, 2010
Automation of unmanned railway level crossing gate
ABSTRACT
The objective of this project is to avoid railroad related accidents happening at unmanned railway crossing gates. This is made possible by automating the level crossing gates using microcontroller and wireless technology.
This project utilizes two pairs of IR transmitters and receivers (sensors), fixed at a certain distance from the level crossing on both sides and at a height higher than that of a human being. The arrival of the train is identified by processing the signal from the foreside sensor, then the buzzer is sounded and the gate is activated to close automatically. When the train crosses the gate, the downside sensor gets activated and the gate will open after a few seconds for road traffic.
A third pair of sensors is placed diagonally across the gate which detects the occurrence of any immobile object (like an injured animal or a broken down
vehicle) . This causes the traffic signal of the train to turn red, hence stopping the train at fair distance away from the gate. Immediately, a message is sent to the adjacent station through a Zigbee transceiver. This message is displayed in the adjacent station to inform the railway authorities about the status of the train, and intimate them to take necessary steps to prevent the arrival of any other train in the same track. Thus avoiding train accidents due to collision as well as to help them clear the railway track.
