GPS systems in transport

4th IN T E R N A T IO N A L C O N F E R E N C E _________

TRANSPO RT SY S T E M S T E L E M A T IC S T S T ’04

Z E SZ Y T Y N A U K O W E P O L IT EC H N IK I Ś LĄ SK IEJ 2004

T R A N SP O R T z.55, nr kol. 1657

railway transport, management systems, optimization costs, objects location Michał M E N T A L 1

Tomasz F R E J2

G PS S Y S T E M S IN T R A N SP O R T

M OPS V ehicles M onitoring System is designed for monitoring o f the exploited means o f transport current location in a real time ow ing to the received location information from GPS satellites and by use o f GPRS packet data transmission.

The M OPS system is offered to big com panies and business units having a vehicle fleet at their disposal and aim ing at m inim izing the operation costs o f transport units or must make the vehicles location information in the real time available w hich enables optimal management o f their resources.

S Y S T E M Y G PS W T R A N SP O R C IE

System M onitoringu Pojazdów M OPS służy do m onitorowania w czasie rzeczyw istym bieżącej lokalizacji eksploatowanych środków transportu dzięki informacji o lokalizacji z satelitów GPS oraz w ykorzystaniu pakietowej transmisji danych GPRS.

System MOPS jest oferow any w szelkim przedsiębiorstwom i jednostkom , posiadającym flotę pojazdów , które ch cą m inim alizow ać koszty eksploatacji środków przew ozow ych lub m uszą dysponować informacją o lokalizacji pojazdów w czasie rzeczyw istym , co pozw ala na optymalne zarządzanie ich zasobami.

1. IN T R O D U C T IO N

M O PS system supplies m onitoring o f any m ovable objects (vehicles, shipm ents, etc.) location in a real tim e.

In version dedicated for vehicles the system supports logistics processes in the range of m eans o f transport usage optim ization and exploitation costs m anagem ent.

A n offer for railw ay com panies includes a com plex system o f rail vehicles (locomotives and carriages) position detection and m onitoring in a real tim e. The system records the run routes w ith th eir param eters, enables th eir later brow sing and analysis as w ell as generating periodic reports, collations and analyses.

The basic elem ents o f the system are: location and transm ission m odule with com m unications term inal to be installed in a locom otive, electronic identification micro

1 W A SK O Co., Berbeckiego 6 ,4 4 -1 0 0 G liw ice, Poland, m mental@ wasko.pl 2 W A SK O Co., B erbeckiego 6 ,4 4 -1 0 0 G liw ice, Poland, t.frej@ wasko.pl

2 7 2 M ic h a ł M E N T A L , T o m a sz FREJ m odules installed on carriages and portable readers enabling autom atic generation o f carriage lists o f a p articu la r train set.

The system p rovides the follow ing tools fo r th e logistics services and m anagem ent units o f the R olling S tock O perator: d etailed record o f any events accom panying the carriages service ranging from basic inform ation o f locom otive and w agon m ileage, loads m ass, types o f loads, lists o f train sets, th e ru n routes to o ther indispensable inform ation necessary in rational operating and rep air p o licy o f ro llin g stock and its m anagem ent.

A d ditionally th e system enables record o f railw ay team s w o rk tim e and support of a station o peration e.g. technological docum ents issuance, autom atic tran sfer o f information about a train to neig h b o u rin g stations and to D isp a tch e r’s O ffice, autom atic docum entation of changes in transportation process m o v em en t situation and fuel consum ption m onitoring of diesel locom otives.

2. S Y S T E M S T R U C T U R E

O b ject location m odu les (M O P S M G ) installed in vehicles and su p ervision centre (SC ) are the basic elem ents o f th e system . The supervision centre m akes up information subsystem w h ich collects and p rocesses th e d ata transm itted from M O PS M G . The centre m ay be installed at c u sto m e r’s seat o r on W A S K O ’s servers and m ade available to customer b y w w w . M aps m atched to custom ers individual needs are integral p art o f th e SC. The system allow s for p o sitio n detection and w o rk in g param eters o f the m onitored vehicles in a real time and also records all the ru n routes.

M O PS M G m odule realises object location, data transm ission to SC, data collection from ex terior sensors (shock sensor, anti-attack button, sw itching the v ehicle ignition, door opening sensor, float in a petrol tank, tem p eratu re and others), o u te r devices control (horn and alarm sw itch on). M O PS M G allow s for additional m odules connection, i.e.:

• M T E -15 - sign term inal (has integrated contacless d river id entification m odule),

• M O PS TC - tachograph im pulses read in g m odule,

• M O PS PP - together w ith a p robe constitutes an accurate m odule o f petrol level m easurem ent,

• M O PS TP - tem perature m easurem ent m odule,

• M O PS IK - contact and contacless d riv er identification,

• M O PS C A N - data read m odule from C A N bus,

• M O PS E P O K E / S C H M ID T - snow -ploughs and sanding vehicles m onitoring m odule.

A p plication o f th e S upervision C entre enables easy access to current and stored data that refer to the m onitored objects. M o d em and easily accessed technologies allow reliable supervision and com m unication w ith vehicles. A fter having been authorised by use o f W W W site (one u ser m ay hav e several accounts defined, each w ith different rights), each system user m ay ch eck the data o f one o r m o re vehicles o f a given fleet and th eir actual location. The system enables co m m unication w ith th e v ehicle as well.

The system is ch aracteristic for interfaces to financial and accountancy system s that enable autom atic data acqu isitio n o f transport m eans operation expenses (falling into two accounting: d irect m aterials, car parks, car w ashes, repairs and spare parts, petrol, am ortisation, additional equipm ent, insurance, taxes, fees, overhaul, re-enterings, etc.).

GPS sy s te m s in tra n s p o rt 273

3. C O M M U N IC A T IO N S IN T E R F A C E S O F M O PS M G M O D U LE

G SM G P R S / SM S / C SD - M O PS M G location m odule uses G PR S packet transm ission to send the data to the supervision centre. The solution significantly reduces the system w o rk in g expenses and guarantees alm ost unrestricted functionality. W ithin the areas w here G SM operator does not m ake resources to G PR S transm ission available (m ainly low urbanized and abroad areas), the device autom atically sw itches to the transm ission course with SM S usage or records data in a “black bo x ” m em ory and after having restored the coverage the data is autom atically sent to the S upervision Centre. G PR S transm ission frequency, SM S transm ission and a sw itch betw een them is configurable.

R ad iotelep h on e in terface w ith digital m odule is an ideal solution dedicated to users who m ake use o f radio com m unications in everyday w ork. T hanks to integration w ith the already existing infrastructure it lim its the puttin g into operation costs and significantly reduces operation costs them selves. It can be especially recom m ended to uniform ed services and public transport com panies w hich have dedicated transm ission channels.

S atellite telephones interface is a solution dedicated to p articularly dem anding custom ers interested in cu rrent inform ation about objects location in places difficult to access and w ith o u t the G SM netw ork reach o r custom ers w ho w ant to becom e independent o f G SM netw ork because o f its inconvenience.

4. D E SC R IPT IO N O F H A R D W A R E M O D U L E S IN S T A LL E D IN A V EH IC LE

4.1. OBJECT LOCATION MODULES - MOPS MG

M O PS M G location and transm ission m odule installed in m eans o f transport is responsible for collecting inform ation about location and state o f the m onitored processes and their delivery to the S upervision Centre. The device base is a m ultifunction m icroprocessor system integrated w ith 12-channel G PS receiv er and G SM /G P R S com m unications m odule.

The follow ing are basic data transm itted to the S upervision Centre:

• object geographical coordinates,

• object m om ent speed, e m easurem ent date and hour,

• G PS system param eters,

• attack sensor reading,

• shock sensor reading,

• fuel level,

• levels o f p o w er voltage,

• digital and analogue inputs states

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F requency o f inform ation transm ission from M O PS M G to the S upervision C entre is param eterised. A pp lied com m unications m odule m akes inform ation transm ission by G P R S /S M S /C S D possible. T he m odule is serially equipped w ith a shock sensor that informs the S upervision C entre about any trials o f m o v in g a p arked vehicle. It has also been equipped w ith back-up system that supports the device w o rk for 30 hours after battery disconnection.

M O PS M G has R S485 com m unications interface to enable connection o f specialised additional m odules.

U sing G PR S packet tran sm issio n significantly reduces the system operation costs and guarantees unrestricted functionality. W ithin th e areas w here G SM o perator does n o t make resources to G PR S tran sm issio n available (m ainly low urbanized and abroad areas), the device autom atically sw itches to the tran sm issio n course w ith SM S usage.

A s a v ehicle enters the area w ith o u t G SM n etw o rk reach, the m odule records data in a

“b la ck b o x ” . A t an assum ption th at enteries are m ade every m inute, th e “b lack b o x ” w ill be full w ith in 45 days. E ach rec o rd contains all inform ation collected b y M O PS M G and additional m odules.

M O P S M G M O P S MTE-15

MAIN MODULE CONTROLLER COM MUNICATIONS

TERM INAL

RS-485 RS-485

M O P S P P FUEL M EASUREM ENT

M O P S I K DRIVER IDENTIFICATION

M O P S T P TEM PERATURE M EASUREMENT

Fig. 1. B lock diagram system

4.2. SIGN T E R M IN A L -M T E -15

M T E -15 term inal is a com plex device focusing sign term inal functions, tachograph im pulses reader, m easu rin g device and p eripheral device handler.

The device allow s statuses, reports an d m essages transm ission (loading, reloading, duty, fuelling, b reak-dow n, etc.) to the S upervision C entre as w ell as receive o f m essages, reports and orders sent to m obile objects b y SC. The term inal enables connection to sensor series installed in a vehicle. M T E -15 is equipped w ith interface to connect an external p rin te r and p rint the receiv ed m essages. A read er o f contactless sm art R FID cards is an additional term inal equipm ent; it enables drivers and s ta ff identification and w o rk tim e record. The term inal is com patible w ith an y perip h erals equipped w ith R S232 or RS485 serial interface (G PS m odule, G SM m odule, a radiophone o r a therm oprinter).

G PS sy s te m s in tra n s p o rt 275

Fig.2. Communication terminal

M T E -15 is equipped w ith a readable LC D display o f resolution 128x64 points and

„qw erty” alphanum eric keyboard. The keyboard has tw o program m able special buttons. The adjusted brightness o f the screen and keyboard backlighting provides high standard o f work both d uring a day and at night.

T he term inal uses several v ersions o f softw are that is custom ized to customers diversified dem ands (e.g. transport units o r uniform ed services).

4.3. MOPS CONTROLLER

PD A devices o f industrial m ake w ere used as a controller w hich reads the identifiers put on carriages and a locom otive. The controllers characteristics:

• increased tightness and m echanical dam ages resistance,

• built-in RFID passive m odules reader,

• besides v erification o f the vehicles sets m ade, the m odule additionally identifies the staff th at m ake the set, the breaks te st and last carriage in a set indexing as w ell as other operations.

The data exchange betw een P D A device and the C entral D atabase is m ade b y the use of the R olling S tock O perator telecom m unications infrastructure or by M O PS M G transmission m odule installed on a locom otive.

4.4. CARRIAGE IDENTIFIER

Passive and contactless R FID buttons are used as the rolling stock identifiers put on carriages and locom otives boards (Fig.3.). T hey are characterised by:

• data record / reading (data concerning carriage, locom otive and shipm ent),

• unique identification num ber,

• po ssib ility o f w ork in d ifficult w ea th er conditions (airtight, resistant housings) - better system accessibility,

• m inim um w eig h t and dim ensions (50 m m in diam eter, 2m m thick) to m ake the modules assem bly easy,

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• lack o f con tact elem ents — b etter system reliab ility and accessibility,

• no need o f p o w e r su p p ly - unattended.

R FID buttons m ay be also used as s ta ff identifiers (e.g. traction team s and controllers).

Fig.3. Passive RFID buttons

Fig.4. Active RFID buttons

4.5. CONTACT AND CONTACLESS DRIVER IDENTIFICATION - MOPS IK

M O PS IK m odule enables driver id entification b ased on a button w ith contact interface (Fig.4.) o r card / b utton w ith contactless interface (R FID ) o f a unique serial num ber. The n u m b e r is attributed to a d river at the S upervision C entre database. H aving rea d the number b y id entification m odule, th e system au tom atically assigns all events connected w ith the v ehicle or locom otive (e.g. the run route o r stopovers) to a p articular d river o r engine driver.

T he M O PS IK m odule:

• p rovides autom atic id entification o f drivers (contact buttons or contactless cards),

• authorises people en titled to drive a vehicle,

• authorises access to additional system m odule o r vehicle (i.e. loading space, access to courier m ail, etc.),

• supports autom atic g eneration o f technological and consignm ent docum ents,

• supports autom atic team s w o rk tim e account.

T he id entification m odule w orks on the basis o f “ iB utton” identification o r R FID cards.

To perfo rm identification, an id e ntifier m ust b e placed w ith in the reach o f a reader. The d efault config u ratio n o f the device m akes no effect unless the driver perform s identification and starts th e v ehicle engine. T he system is then unable to define a driver and sends only the inform ation abo u t lack o f d riv e r’s identification to the S upervision C entre. H ow ever the device co n figuration is possible: should no identification in a given tim e occur, the vehicle m ay b e im m o b ilized o r any o th e r reactio n m a y take place. Lack o f identification is signalled by red LED blin k in g o f the reader. S hould identification be m ade correctly, the green LED com es on.

GPS sy s te m s in tra n s p o rt 277

4.6. PETROL MEASUREM ENT MODULE - MOPS PP

P etrol m easurem ent m odule enables:

• precise m easurem ent o f p etrol level in a vehicle petrol tank,

• m easurem ent o f liquid level in tankers and industrial containers,

• analysis o f petrol average consum ption,

• signalling o f assum ed petrol consum ption standards exceed,

• signalling o f stealing fuel fro m the tank.

M O PS PP is com posed o f tw o parts:

• processing m odule - changes the analogue signal into a digital one and sends the m easurem ent data to M O PS M G m ain m odule,

• m easurem ent p robe w hich is individually m atched to custom ers needs and dem ands.

4.7. TEM PERATURE MEASUREM ENT MODULE - MOPS TP

T em perature m easurem ent m odule m akes b oth vehicle inside and outside measurements possible (e.g. tem perature m easurem ent in refrigeration trucks indispensable for food transportation).

R ange o f tem perature m easurem ent: -55°C +125°C; it m ay be extended depending on custom ers needs.

5. SC H E D U L E O F C O L L E C T IN G IN F O R M A T IO N A B O U T A TRA IN SET

R eading identification buttons from successive carriages and locom otive b y the use of controller: the controller should b e brought close to a button at about 5-10 cm distance and its key should be pressed.

P ossible approval o f the m ade operation b y reading an individual identification button o f the em ployee w ho m ade the train set.

D ata transm ission from the controller to th e S upervision C entre by the use o f M O PS M G m odule installed in a locom otive.

6. SU P E R V IS IO N C E N T R E A PP L IC A T IO N

B ased on our experience and custom ers suggestions w e have been still developing the range o f functions accessible by our softw are. W e treat each custom er individually. When defining the application functionality, the custom er m ay chose a group o f functions, collations, charts and m onitored sensors he is interested in. W A S K O created a dedicated application o f advanced functionality that involves functions to support the processes that appear in transportation and forw arding com panies. W A S K O ’s S upervision C entre offer for com m unal and public transport com panies w as extended b y special function groups which are

2 78 M ic h a ł M E N T A L , T o m a sz FREJ characteristic for th eir operation specification. E quipm ent and program m odules were extended b y functions th at support th e activities present in a railw ay carriage process.

Fig.5. Application main look

6.1. LOCOM OTIVES AND CARRIAGES DATABASE

A ll inform ation collected in a system and referred to current sets location (i.e.

g eographical location, m o m en tary speed, height above the sea level, etc.) are recorded in the system central database w hich involves the follow ing:

• reco rd inform ation about a given train set (i.e. num bers o f carriages in a set o r occurrence o f special carriages),

• reco rd inform ation about engine drivers and th e ir w o rk tim e (i.e. w o rk start and finish tim es),

• inform ation g enerated on technological docum ents (i.e. sets w eight, breaks condition, forw arding and ta rg e t stations),

• trains tim etables,

• inform ation abo u t carried cargoes (w aybills num bers and N H M international codes),

• record inform ation about locom otives and carriages (i.e. num ber and am ount o f axes, kerb w eight, rev isio n date, etc.).

The database is su pported from the follow ing sources:

• sets location and content o f sets to gether w ith w o rk tim e record by m eans o f author device using G SM techn o lo g y (the sets content is read b y a hand term inal),

• record o f consignm ent letters m ade cyclically: once o r several tim es a day,

• s t a f f s rec o rd m ade cyclically from th e com pany record system or d irectly entered from M O PS system level,

• ro llin g stock reco rd m ade once w hile th e system im plem entation and subsequently at authorised u s e r’s request,

• train s tim etable — d ata im port is p erform ed should the need arise e.g. once a year.

GPS sy s te m s in tra n s p o rt 279

D ata base m anagem ent system is selected according to:

• custom er p references and softw are licenses held,

• the range o f system im plem entation (am ount o f the system users and the range o f collected data).

6.2. DATA PROCESSING

The data o f train set com position com prising inform ation about all carriages and engine drivers w ork record feed the system at the m om ent o f train setting, receiving the train at a target station and at any m anoeuvre station or m arshalling y ard w here the set state is changed.

The inform ation lets am ong others on:

• generation o f technological docum ents and operation reports,

• m onitoring and reporting o f engine drivers w o rk tim e: generation o f relevant reports and statistics.

T rain sets location data is collected up-to-date and its am ount depends on assumed frequency o f restoring location inform ation. A m o n g other things the data allows:

• current sets location m onitoring (text inform ation about tow n, visualisation on a digital m ap, inform ation about m om entary speed, etc.),

• train set inform ation transfer to neighbouring stations (notification about approaching trains),

• getting collective inform ation about train sets at a given area (region or station),

• generation o f train courses regularity charts,

• getting inform ation about train traffic at crossing the indicated checkpoint,

• access to the run routes history - statistical inform ation o f the run route (e.g. tim e, average speed etc.) and visualisation o f the route on a digital map.

The data including inform ation about the shipm ents (w aybills) is downloaded autom atically from shipm ent reco rd system ; it is m ade cyclically (e.g. once every 24 hours).

A m ong o ther things the inform ation allows:

• follow ing the route o f a p articular shipm ent and m aking the service available to customers,

• generation o f reports and am ount statistics about shipm ents.

T he rolling stock record data includes inform ation about scheduled exam ination which are im ported from railw ay record system on system authorised u se r’s dem and (i.e. head dispatcher). The inform ation enables am ong other things:

• rolling stock record storage and update,

• generation o f alerts (rem inders) about activities connected w ith the rolling stock (e.g. an inspection),

• generation o f th e rolling stock operation statistics.

T he data includes inform ation o f train sets tim etable and feed the system while the tim etable actualisation. The inform ation allow s am ong other things:

• tim etable presentation,

• com parison o f current course w ith the tim etable and reports generation.

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6.3. DATA PRESENTATION

A th ree -lay e r arc hitecture designed to store ap plication in a central server makes the application use p ossible w ith o u t any softw are installation; no updating is n eed ed either.

C u sto m er term inals enable the system access b y Internet ex p lo rer b ein g w hich is a standard equipm ent o f PC com puters.

O w ing to p la n n ed th ree-lay er system operation m odel:

• dispatcher o r inspector at the station level,

• exchange at the reg io n level,

• dispatcher exchange at m ain d isp atch er’s office

it is advisable to equip the ap plication w ith users m anagem ent m odule including a p recise m ech an ism o f access allocation to specific data, its m odification and verification as w ell as to the system functions.

6.4. ROLLING STOCK RECORD MODULE

The m odule stores and m akes accessible to its users in the form o f collations th e rolling stock filing data, the o bject condition (e.g. repairs and m aintenance dates, etc.), belonging to a set and goods inform ation.

Fig.6. Rolling stock record module look

6.5. ROUTES REGISTRATION MODULE

The m odule p resents inform ation about a com pleted route, speed charts, engine drivers data in b ar charts and prev iew o f the route o n a m ap w ith the p o ssibility o f recorded route penetration.

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6.6. VISUALISATION MODULE

T he m odule enables preview o f current sets location on a digital m ap together with m om entary speed inform ation accurate w ithin a specific delivery. B oth current location and history o f m onitored objects routes are displayed on m ultilayer digital m ap. T ogether with integrated database it is a basic tool o f the S upervision C entre operator.

T he m odule allow s for any configuration o f presented data range and enables single objects and the w hole fleet m onitoring sim ultaneously.

Fig.8. Location visualisation module look

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6.7. STAFF MODULE

The m odule presents th e analysis o f reco rd ed w o rk tim e together w ith corresponding reports in the form o f te x t and graphic collations. W ork inspection involves am ong other things:

• current location,

• n u m b er o f w o rk e d hours,

• n um ber o f h ours to be w orked,

• daily and w eek ly driv in g and w o rk lim its,

• driving tim e and stopover tim e,

• the run route.

Fig.9. W ork time analysis module look

6.8. DO CU M EN TS’ MODULE

T he m odule collects an d m akes available to custom ers the required technological docum ents th at are p rintable; the docum ents are associated w ith objects (sets) they refer to.

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6.9. USERS MODULE

The m odule allow s assignm ent o f rights to the required system functions and ti the required data depending on u se r’s official duties range.

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R eview er: Ph. D. Jerzy Mikulski