IEEE VTS Lunch Meeting Tuesday February 14

Tue Jan 31 15:28:24 CST 2012

Of possible interest to Amrad members.

Karl W4KRL

The IEEE Vehicular Technology Society 

National Capital Chapter 

in association with ASME

Invites you to our monthly lunch meeting 

Tuesday February 14, 2012

We are privileged to have Prof. Colin Goodman speak at our February meeting
through the auspices of the IEEE VTS Distinguished Lecturer Program. The
program provides Vehicular Technology Society (VTS) local chapters
throughout the world with presentations by experts on topics of interest and
importance to the Vehicular Technology membership community. With more than
40 Distinguished Lecturers available to go on society-sponsored lecturing
tours, the VTS Distinguished Lecturers Program is among the largest in IEEE
and the National Capital Chapter is one of the first to participate in this
program. I ask all members and their colleagues to attend this meeting to
hear Prof. Goodman discuss the state of the art and future direction for
railroad network traffic control.

Thank you,

Karl Berger

Chair, National Capital Chapter 

________________________________

Speaker:           Colin Goodman, MA, PhD, CEng, FIET, FIRSE, MIEEE

                          Honorary Professor in Rail Traction Systems

                          Birmingham Centre for Rail Research and Education

                          University of Birmingham, UK

Topic:                Area Train Control

Place:                American Public Transportation Association

                          Conference Room - 11th Floor

                          1666 K Street, NW, Washington, DC

                          Red Line: Farragut North (K Street Exit)

                          Orange/Blue Lines: Farragut West (17th Street
Exit)

Date/Time:        TUESDAY February 14, 2012, 11:30 am

Lunch:               $20.00 CASH AT THE DOOR

Reservations:   Reply to this announcement at vts.ltc.dc at gmail.com

                          (Please make your reservations by Noon Thursday
February 9.)

About the Topic:

The huge advances in communications technology and computing in recent
decades has made it possible to consider the control of railways in the same
way that one might once have thought about controlling industrial processes.
There are still a few uncertainties, such as the best way to measure the
location of each train or the best way to achieve high bandwidth two-way
track-to-train data transfer, but we have reached the stage of polishing
these techniques rather than wondering whether we can do it at all. The next
challenges are therefore to consider what might be achieved by central
control and, among the things that are possible, which are actually worth
doing. Some examples are already in operation, of course, such as the
headway regulator used by the Mass Transit Railway in HK, the junction
optimization featured within the ARS (Automatic Route Setting) system in the
UK and the automatic re-scheduling system used at Central Japan Railway's
Shinkansen control center dealing with failed or delayed trains.

This lecture puts forward a few personal thoughts about how far forward we
may be able to take classical optimal control ideas to improve railway
operation, given that the enabling technologies now exist. Possible systems
reviewed will include further development of the metro headway regulation
toward minimizing the undesirable effects on passengers in disrupted
conditions, minimizing the overhead power losses in 25 kV railways with
modern PWM front-end converters and making minor schedule changes at
interchanges to minimize missed connections.

The classical approaches involve system modelling, which in the case of a
highly non-linear system like a railway, inevitably involves simulation.
Much of the effort needed to develop the systems to be discussed lie in this
area. Alternatively, attempts can be made to encapsulate the knowledge about
the best thing to do in a given situation (disturbance, for example) into
rules or algorithms: this method is sometimes referred to as the Expert
System approach. This is effectively what most systems that have reached
operational reality actually do. It is possible to use strict optimal
control ideas to generate the knowledge off-line, but use it in an expert
system on-line to get round the problem of the vast amount of computing
needed to find true maxima/minima.

Although this lecture focuses on area train control, Prof Goodman will be
happy to discuss other aspects of the Centre's work, particularly train
performance and energy consumption simulations and condition monitoring of
track assets.

About the Speaker: 

Prof. Colin Goodman (MA, PhD, CEng, FIET, FIRSE, MIEEE) completed his MA and
PhD degrees at Peterhouse, Cambridge before spending three years working on
heavy industrial automation at GEC. In 1973, he joined the University of
Birmingham UK where he conducted research originally on power-electronic
traction control that subsequently broadened into many other aspects of
railway systems. Initially involving the creation of a substantial railway
simulation program, aimed at studying the effects of chopper controllers,
his investigations then extended to the control of train traffic including
signalling systems, the dimensioning of power supply systems, the design of
traction controllers and their effects on track circuits and
telecommunications and general issues of train performance, energy
consumption and the associated business cases. Recent work has focused
mainly on real-time railway traffic regulation by on-line computers and the
condition monitoring of a wide variety of railway assets, both track-side
and on the vehicles, together with continued enhancement and expansion of
the original railway simulator and its applications. As a founder member of
the Traction Research Group, he has worked in continuous collaboration with
international railway companies as well as undertaking government supported
research work.

Prof. Goodman has always had strong links with the Far East, particularly
Hong Kong and Japan. He has had particular support from both the Mass
Transit Railway and the Kowloon-Canton Railway in HK and the Central Japan
Railway. He has spent periods of several months as a Visiting Professor at
both Tokyo and HK Polytechnic universities, working in Departments strongly
focused on railway research. In 2002, Prof Goodman was part of a team
negotiating with the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
to set up a national Rail Systems Research Centre. This led to Birmingham
becoming the Headquarters of Rail Research UK, which eventually involved
some nine universities. Until retiring in October 2007, he was Theme Manager
for Whole System Performance in RRUK. He now holds an Honorary Professorship
in Rail Traction Systems in the University of Birmingham and continues to
contribute by giving lectures on the MSc in Rail Systems Engineering and
guiding research projects as well as consulting to the industry.

________________________________

About the IEEE VTS:

The IEEE Vehicular Technology Society concerns itself with land, airborne
and maritime mobile services; portable commercial and citizen's
communications services; vehicular electrotechnology, equipment and systems
of the automotive industry; traction power, signals, communications and
control systems for mass transit and railroads.

The Vehicular Technology Society (VTS) is composed of engineers, scientists,
students, and technicians, interested in advancing the theory and practice
of electrical engineering as it applies to the following areas: 

*	Land Transportation 
*	Railroad/Mass Transit 
*	Mobile Communications 
*	Vehicular Electrotechnology Equipment and Systems 
*	Land, Airborne and Maritime Mobile Services 

The function of the Society is to promote its objectives through the
leadership of its Officers and Members in encouraging the exchange of both
technical and professional information among members of the Society, and
other groups, societies, and chapters of the IEEE. For more information, see
www.vtsociety.org

________________________________

IEEE VTS Officers: 

*	Chair - Karl Berger, P.E. 
*	Vice Chair - Martin Schroeder, P.E. 
*	Secretary - Ken Briers 
*	Treasurer - Steve Bezner, P.E. 
*	Programs - Kal Byrapogu 
*	President Emeritus - Chuck Engelhardt 

________________________________

FUTURE MEETINGS: 

*	March 13, 2012 - Steve Townsend, Keolis America 
*	April 10, 2012 - Bob Walker, Metro North Railroad 
*	May 8, 2012 - David Webb, Capital Coach Works

________________________________

You have received this e-mail as a previous attendee of the IEEE VTS
National Capital Chapter Luncheon Meeting. If you no longer wish to receive
meeting announcements or wish to make changes to your contact information
please send an e-mail to vts.ltc.dc at gmail.com.

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