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UWB
wireless technology
lifts the barrier to invisible,
intelligent railway ticketing
Cambridge
Consultants has demonstrated
a wireless tagging technology
based on new-generation 'ultra-wide
band' communications, providing
a step-change in capability
compared with today's paperless
transport ticketing. Offering
a very large sensing zone -
with the option of 3D-positional
information on tags - the technology
has the potential to give commuters
an invisible license to travel.
It could be used to eliminate
barriers in railway systems
and allow revenue-checking staff
to target only ticket-less passengers.
Unlike
today's proximity smartcard
tickets that need to touch or
pass within a few centimetres
of a reader, Cambridge Consultants'
ultra-wide band (UWB) technology
has a range of 25 metres and
can be sensed easily within
a pocket or bag, eliminating
queue-forming bottlenecks at
railway entries or exits. The
technology additionally supports
two-way communications and embedded
intelligence. This provides
the basis to design tags capable
of implementing functions such
as links to location-based services
such as taxis, and sophisticated
ticketing mechanisms such as
support for multi-modal/multi-operator
travel, and variable charging
from an e-purse.
Despite
offering this capability, a
UWB tag can currently be implemented
on a small module similar in
size to a credit card, and has
the potential to be integrated
further - to a single low-cost
chip and simple antenna. The
highly efficient communications
system that underpins UWB means
that power consumption is minimal
- even for advanced schemes
involving two-way communications
-necessitating only a tiny button
cell.
Consequently,
Cambridge Consultants anticipates
that the price of UWB-based
paperless tickets could be as
low as €2 for national-scale
schemes - providing a cost-effective
basis for multi-journey and
season-ticket passes. Combined
with a tag's reprogrammability,
such a system could also provide
travellers with a flexible token
that could be charged with value
or tickets to handle low-cost
fares.
The reader for such a UWB tagging
system comes in the form of
a simple basestation, similar
to that for a cordless phone,
which could easily be carried
by an inspector.
The precision location sensing
capability of the system comes
from the use of two basestations
fitted with very low power UWB
radar capability - a technology
that Cambridge Consultants has
already pioneered for people
sensing at road crossings, and
anti-collision radar for automobiles.
With this capability, two basestations
can sense the location of tags
- or even people without tags
- in a 3D zone covering an area
of 25 x 25 metres. This is enough
to cover a train carriage for
instance - providing the basis
for intelligent paperless ticketing
that allows inspectors to focus
their time purely on ticket-less
passengers. Equally, basestations
could be set up to precisely
monitor a platform area. The
components required for these
short-range transceivers/location
sensors are also simple, and
could cost between €200
and €400 depending on the
features implemented.
"Mainline railways pose
their own set of problems for
automated revenue checking because
of the large numbers of entries
and exits, and the large payloads
of trains," says Peter
Bell, Head of Cambridge Consultants'
Automotive and Transport business
unit. "Ultra wide-band
wireless is a very powerful
technology that offers a fresh
perspective for implementing
paperless ticketing schemes.
It provides a much more flexible
way of sensing ticketing that
eliminates the cost and restrictions
of conventional barriers and
terminals, and liberates passengers.
Our technology demonstration
illustrates its potential, and
we are seeking to work with
a national operator or consortium
to develop the technology for
commercial operations."
Cambridge Consultants' UWB tag
technology is already undergoing
trials in people-sensing applications
in Europe and the USA.
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