UAH OnTrack: Precision Navigation System for Research on The Software Safety Issues of Positive Train Control

摘要

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) is developing UAH OnTrack, a system for creating location and velocity aware model trains for teaching about software system safety. UAH OnTrack mimics capabilities of the congressional mandated Positive Train Control system, which will allow centralized analysis and control of US trains in case of imminent danger. The system provides location and velocity information to model trains in GPS challenged environments such as real trains might find in tunnels, urban environments and underground rail yards and stations. It also provides an opportunity to develop advanced scheduling algorithms mimicking the properties of the US airspace Required Navigation Performance capabilities by allowing trains to follow more closely than the traditional block scheduling system. It also provides a platform for development and verification of robust algorithms for monitoring of system safety and security.