Development of TRINETRA : A Sensor Based Vision Enhancement System for
Obstacle Detection on Railway Tracks
Abstract
The authors have developed a prototype, which promises easy passage for
trains in unknown environments such as zero visibility situations, fog,
smog, and heavy rain. The prototype is based upon the integration of a
camera, Radio Detection and Ranging (RADAR), and Infrared (IR) Light
Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation (LASER).The camera
used in the prototype catches a long-range view of the track and
presents it live on a mini screen fixed in the loco pilot cabin. A
combined short, mid, and long-range radar sensor system is used to
detect obstacles continuously in loco pilot blind spots on the track,
particularly for collision avoidance assistance at high speed. The
present work proposes a long-range laser IR illuminator with a wide
range of color and mono cameras to aid clear and precise monitoring in
zero visibility conditions, which is fixed on the front portion/engine
of the locomotive/engine. The prototype experimental results for 2 m - 2
km distances have been performed on a live running train, which shows
that the developed prototype tracks obstacles effectively during fog and
smog conditions. The design concept, observation, prototype model, and
other technical specifications have been presented, and satisfactory
results were found.