Development of TRINETRA: A Sensor Based Vision Enhancement System for Obstacle Detection on Railway Tracks

This paper presents the design and development of an innovative device TRINETRA: A sensor based vision enhancement system for obstacle detection on railway tracks. The TRINETRA is termed as Technological Research and Innovation for National Empowerment of Trains to Reduce Accidents. The authors have developed a prototype of TRINETRA, 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.