Bosch Engineering GmbH
Driver Assistance Systems
Tram Forward Collision Warning System
Product Benefits
- Active support for tram drivers in critical situations in urban traffic
- Greater safety for driver and passengers as well as for all other road users in the immediate vicinity
- Trams more consistently on time thanks to reduction of accident frequency
- Reduced costs by avoiding or reducing accidents
Danger Detected
For tram drivers, tough situations like heavy commuter traffic or poor visibility quickly become serious challenges. Obstacles on the rails or road users who approach the rails have to be detected in enough time for the risks to be recognised.
Danger Averted
When it comes to its collision warning system for light rail vehicles, Bosch Engineering relies on proven components from automotive technology to actively reduce the expensive consequences of accidents or prevent them altogether. If the system detects an impending collision, it warns the tram driver, and if the driver reacts too late or not at all, the system can initiate automatic braking.
Green Light for Greater Safety
The collision warning system consists of a multi purpose camera, a radar sensor and a control unit. The multi purpose camera monitors the track layout ahead, as well as vehicles and people and transmits this information in real time to the radar sensor. The object information of the video camera and radar sensor are fused to an overall picture of the environment. Taking the vehicle’s speed into consideration, the system uses the information to determine the danger of a collision.
In the event of a hazard due to an obstacle, the system calculates whether an optical and / or acoustic warning should be given to the driver. It determines whether the threat presented by an obstacle warrants a visual and/or acoustic warning to the driver. It sends a signal via relay output to trigger automatic braking, should the driver respond too late or not at all to the system’s warning. The relay’s switching function can be checked automatically when the system starts up to confirm that it is working properly. The tram drivers can take action – they can override the system or stop the initiation of automatic braking via the driver control function if the dangerous situation has already been resolved.
The system monitoring function gives the driver an overview of components’ system status, which can be displayed using LED, for example. How the warning is given, the warning/braking thresholds, and other system parameters can be individually customised
Recognising – and Leveraging – Strengths
Combining the data from the multi purpose camera and mid-range radar sensor improves obstacle detection. The principle of sensor data fusion, adopted from the field of automation development for road vehicles, selectively merges the strengths of multiple sensor principles. In this way, it boosts both the reliability and the availability of the sensor technology.
