Crossing Hazard Intelligent Alert System (CHIAS)

Railroad grade crossings remain one of the primary locations for fatal or near-fatal accidents involving rail vehicles. Multiple attempts to prevent such accidents by means such as signals and gates are severely hampered both by expense of installation and by the fact that many accidents are caused by vehicle drivers or pedestrians deliberately or through inattention ignoring or evading warnings and even barriers. To address this problem, International Electronic Machines (IEM), a leader in sensors for rail safety, maintenance and security, proposes the development of the Crossing Hazard Intelligent Alert System (CHIAS). Deriving from four million dollars worth of prior research including multiple smart-sensing safety sensing projects for NASA, NOAA, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), and others, CHIAS will take advantage of recent advances in technology and unique, patented IEM technology and software to overcome limitations of prior technology attempts. CHIAS will be inexpensive (~$3,000 total cost to cover an entire grade crossing with minimal-to-no yearly maintenance), easy to install, self-calibrating, self-powered, rugged, reliable, customizable, accurate and able to interface with other systems as desired – railroad central communications scheduling, individual approaching trains, local emergency response, and so on.