Tech that keeps vehicles from bumping into each other

Sub: Sci

Sec: Msc

Context:

As many as 15 people have been killed and dozens injured after a freight train collided with a passenger train in India’s West Bengal state.

What is a collision avoidance system?

A collision avoidance system (CAS) is a collection of technologies to help a vehicle steer clear of another vehicle or obstacles.
Most CAS devices require two pieces of information, preferably in real-time: the locations of all the other vehicles and the location of this vehicle relative to those vehicles.

How does CAS help land-based vehicles?

Suppose two cars, called the Front Car and the Back Car, are moving in sequence and both are fit with CAS devices.
If the separation between the two cars is expected to drop within a certain value within a stipulated time frame, the CAS may be empowered to deploy an automatic emergency brake as required of cars in the European Union, for example without the driver’s intervention.

What is ‘Kavach’?

Kavach System is an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system developed by the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) under Indian Railway (IR).
It is a set of electronic devices and Radio Frequency Identification devices installed in locomotives, in the signaling system as well the tracks, that talk to each other using ultra-high radio frequencies to control the brakes of trains and also alert drivers, all based on the logic programmed into them.
The system can alert the loco pilot, take control of the brakes and bring the train to a halt automatically when it notices another train on the same line within a prescribed distance.
The device also continuously relays the signals ahead to the locomotive, making it useful for loco pilots in low visibility.
It also controls the speed of the train by an automatic application of brakes in case the loco pilot fails to do so.
It helps the loco pilot in running the train during inclement weather conditions such as dense fog.

How does CAS work in ships and aircraft?

An important component of CAS is the transponder which is a device that, when it receives a radio-frequency ping, produces a response.
Using the transponders of various other aircraft, the host aircraft can build up a 3D view of the air traffic around itself.
If another aircraft is within 48 seconds away on a potential collision course, the computer sounds a traffic advisory that requires the pilots to visually identify the other aircraft.
Ships use a combination of visual sighting and radar to steer clear of each other, while these operations are similarly assisted with the use of additional systems like Automatic Identification System(AIS) and Long Range Identification and Tracking(LRIT).

How have satellites changed CAS?

An important alternative to the transponder-based system for aircraft is the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) system, which collects and processes information shared actively by each aircraft via satellites.
Similarly, the AIS for ships can be facilitated by satellites as well such as S-AIS systems are particularly useful to track ships that are too far from AIS stations on land.