Slashdot Mirror
Using GPS To Prevent Train Crashes In India
dave420 writes "The BBC has an article outlining plans in India to use GPS technology to alert train drivers of obstructions on the tracks, automatically stopping the train if the driver fails to take action. This sounds like a good use of cheaply-available technology to provide a safer train network."
Do the boulders have GPS too?
At present, drivers sit on hard wooden seats in cabins where temperatures often soar to an unbearable 56C.
The rest rooms provided for them often have no electricity and they have no recreational facilities.
They will also get cushioned seats in the engine room as well as a walkie-talkie to keep in touch with the station officials.
But it seems like they could have addressed some of these issues incrementally.
What happens when the USA turns off or munges GPS information again? Is Europe still considering if they should make a secondary GPS system?
is bad tracks and bridges, rather than stationary objects on track. The only solution for that is to get rid of the British laid century old tracks and lay new ones.
New year Resolution: Don't change sig this year
Having heard countless stories from most of my Indian pals over the years, I'm really curious how much of a difference this GPS plan will make. Sure, it's might be better than the way things are right now, but it seems that the transportation problems are endemic to society and thus not fixable (or even help-able) with something like GPS devices. And this isn't limited to just trains; there are apparently bus accidents all the time, too.
Having not been to India myself, I have to go with my second-hand knowledge and stories I hear, but it pretty much sounds like the Indian economy would never support the kinds of changes required to make mass transit actually safe. I'm interested to hear others' thoughts on this.
That could be solved by a clever engineer. How about the rout is pre-programmed so it knows what tracks it is on, then instead of measuring the horizontal (which track it is on), that is known and only the vertical (along the track) is needed from GPS. Or, how about DGPS, to enhance the accuracy. Now how GPS is going to tell them when a cow is crossing is another story. Last I checked cows were not born with transmitters.
Oh, and I'd like to see America function without high technology. Seriously, that would be hilarious. If all the intercity flights were grounded, and cars were taken off the road, the average US joe would use Amtrack to get around, and you'd soon understand the predicament India is in.
It's easy to make fun of the little guy.