Development of a multi-train operation simulator with interactive human computer interface

초록

Owing to the technology development in railway industry, the maximum permitted speed has been continuously increased and train traffic reaches the limits of its infrastructure. Therefore, new control concepts to maximize the usability of current infrastructure need to be developed. In this paper, we suggested a development strategy of a multi-train operation simulator for analyzing the operation of conventional railway system. For this purpose, we designed computer-based simulation models of train, station, rail and railway operation system such as centralized traffic control (CTC), and automatic train protection (ATP) system as an agent, respectively, based on their functions. And then an integrated railway environment was developed to simulate railway operation in a virtual environment. The simulation results are displayed on wide screen constructed with three 42” plasma display panels and a head mounted- display device with motion tracking system, in real time. When a simulation begins, trains are dispatched and driven on given railway one by one following the train performance results. The interactive operation in virtual environment has distinguished advantages compared to the related other works hitherto because it gives realistic simulation environment.