Improving Safety at Level Crossings
Project overview
The Centre for Technology Infusion is developing a new technology-based solution to improve safety at level crossings.
The $5.5 million three-year project uses Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) - a wireless technology providing vehicles and drivers a 360 degree level of awareness of the surrounding traffic situation.
The technology establishes wireless communication between trains approaching a level crossing and vehicles approaching the crossing. If the system detects the possibility of a collision, a warning message is presented inside the driver's vehicle.
The system has already undergone three large-scale field trials at both regional and urban crossings in the largest-known rail crossing safety study of its kind in the world.
Watch 'New technology set to save lives', a video about the Intelligent Transport System.
CTI received the Victorian Merit Recipient iAward in the 2013 Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) Awards for the category of Research & Development.
Partners
- La Trobe University
- Automotive Cooperative Research Centre (AutoCRC)
- Public Transport Victoria (PTV)
- Metro Trains Melbourne
- V/Line
- Embedded Systems Technology
- Victorian Partnership for Advanced Computing (VPAC)
- Queensland University of Technology
- Cohda Wireless
- Tongji University - Shanghai, China
- Tsinghua University - Beijing, China
Demonstrations
New technology set to save lives
Saving lives at rail crossings
Transcript
- Narrator:
New technology which will have cars and trains 'talking' to each other could save an average of 37 lives every year and an estimated 100 million dollars by eliminating rail crossing collisions, especially in rural and regional Australia. The La Trobe University Centre for Technology Infusion in partnership with the Australian Automotive Co-operative Research Centre and Victorian Department of Transport hopes to have such technology available in three years.
- Professor Singh:
The technology we are using is called dedicated short-range communications that allows vehicles to talk to one other and that information is sent to all the other vehicles about the situation at a particular level crossing and drivers are able to make decisions based on that information.
- Narrator:
The $4 million dollar project is at the forefront of a global move to ‘intelligent’ transport systems and ‘smart cars’ of the future. It involves mobile-phone-style wireless networks, integrated with GPS. These will run on an international standard of 5.9 gigahertz.
- Professor Singh:
As soon as this spectrum is allocated, and in a number of countries it has already been allocated, then the new vehicles will start coming out with this technology, but the solution can be retrofitted as well to cars that are already on the road.
- Narrator:
There are about nine and a half thousand level crossings on Australian public roads. About 2,000 are in Victoria. Only a third have flashing lights or boom barriers.
- Terry Spicer:
This technology has the potential to significantly reduce and ultimately eliminate collisions, injuries and fatalities at level crossings.
- Narrator:
The La Trobe system – which extends driver vision up to one kilometre in all directions will be trialled in 100 vehicles, the largest known rail crossing study of its kind in the world.
- Professor Singh:
We have signed an agreement with a number of Chinese universities, with companies there as well that are partnering with those universities, and we see China, India and Asia will be a huge export market.
- Terry Spicer:
The global vehicle manufacturers are going to manufacture this technology into motor vehicles. The question will simply be how quickly governments around the world retrospectively require motor vehicles, or heavy vehicles or buses to also fit the technology rather than just allow people to purchase the technology in new vehicles.
- Narrator:
The new system is based on relatively cheap radio technology, so the cost per vehicle can be kept to a minimum. This is good news for drivers, particularly those using remote crossings without lights and booms, where an on board safety warning system could save lives, and the next generation of cars fitted with this technology may even stop on their own.
Intelligent Transport System demonstration - Vehicle approaching level crossing
- Other formats
- Intelligent Transport System demonstration - Vehicle approaching level crossing MP4 [15.21 MB]
- Intelligent Transport System demonstration - Vehicle approaching level crossing MP3 [1.16 MB]
- Intelligent Transport System demonstration - Vehicle approaching level crossing Transcript
- Intelligent Transport System demonstration - Vehicle approaching level crossing Permalink
- Other formats on request: webmarketing@latrobe.edu.au
Intelligent Transport System demonstration -Vehicle approaching perpendicular and parallel to level crossing
- Other formats
- Intelligent Transport System demonstration -Vehicle approaching perpendicular and parallel to level crossing MP4 [29.04 MB]
- Intelligent Transport System demonstration -Vehicle approaching perpendicular and parallel to level crossing MP3 [1.47 MB]
- Intelligent Transport System demonstration -Vehicle approaching perpendicular and parallel to level crossing Transcript
- Intelligent Transport System demonstration -Vehicle approaching perpendicular and parallel to level crossing Permalink
- Other formats on request: webmarketing@latrobe.edu.au
Intelligent Transport System demonstration - Vehicle rerouting for congestion avoidance
- Other formats
- Intelligent Transport System demonstration - Vehicle rerouting for congestion avoidance MP4 [12.00 MB]
- Intelligent Transport System demonstration - Vehicle rerouting for congestion avoidance MP3 [0.96 MB]
- Intelligent Transport System demonstration - Vehicle rerouting for congestion avoidance Transcript
- Intelligent Transport System demonstration - Vehicle rerouting for congestion avoidance Permalink
- Other formats on request: webmarketing@latrobe.edu.au
Intelligent Transport System demonstration - Intersection Collision Avoidance
- Other formats
- Intelligent Transport System demonstration - Intersection Collision Avoidance MP4 [8.43 MB]
- Intelligent Transport System demonstration - Intersection Collision Avoidance MP3 [0.63 MB]
- Intelligent Transport System demonstration - Intersection Collision Avoidance Transcript
- Intelligent Transport System demonstration - Intersection Collision Avoidance Permalink
- Other formats on request: webmarketing@latrobe.edu.au
Intelligent Transport System demonstration - Vehicle approaching regional level crossing
- Other formats
- Intelligent Transport System demonstration - Vehicle approaching regional level crossing MP4 [13.75 MB]
- Intelligent Transport System demonstration - Vehicle approaching regional level crossing MP3 [1.06 MB]
- Intelligent Transport System demonstration - Vehicle approaching regional level crossing Transcript
- Intelligent Transport System demonstration - Vehicle approaching regional level crossing Permalink
- Other formats on request: webmarketing@latrobe.edu.au
In the news
- CTI invited by United Nations Synergy, Faculty of Science, Technology and Engineering, La Trobe University, November 2013
- CTI receives Victorian iAward merit, Bulletin, La Trobe University, 19 June 2013
- Victoria recognises local ICT innovators with the announcement of the 2013 State iAwards Winners, 2013 Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) awards
- On track for safer roads and crossings, Synergy, Faculty of Science, Technology and Engineering, La Trobe University, May 2013
- Talking cars to hit the road in 2015, Financial Review, 4 January 2013
- Dedicated Short Range Communications for Safer Railway Crossings, Public Transport Victoria 2012
- Qld Trials new measures at rail crossings, Herald Sun, 17 September 2012
- Queensland to trial car radio warnings for vehicles near train tracks after Banyo truck and train crash, Herald Sun 17 September 2012
- Qld trials new measures at rail crossings, NineMSN 17 September 2012
- Push for safer level crossings technology Herald Sun 16 September 2012
- Cars will `talk' and dodge traffic jams, Jennifer Foreshew, The Australian, 4 September 2012
- Dingee crossing to trial new GPS safety technology, Chloe Ross, Bendigo Advertiser, 28 August 2012
- Wireless transmitters to be installed in trains to warn motorists when a train is approaching a level crossing, Herald Sun, August 24 2012
- Talking car sends train danger warning loud and clear, Greg Thom, Herald Sun, Melbourne 21 May 2012
- Putting rail safety on the right track, Geoff Maslen, The Age, 21 September 2010