Design and Implementation of Context Aware Applications With Wireless Sensor Network Support in Urban Train Transportation Environments

Transportation system is experiencing steady growth, with the aim of providing more efficient, reliable, and comfortable services, in the framework of intelligent transportation systems. Moreover, context aware environments are one of the main drivers in the achievement of smart cities and smart regions. In this paper, wireless sensor networks (WSNs) embedded in urban transportation systems will be analyzed in terms of impact on wireless channel behavior and system performance. An in-house developed 3-D ray launching tool, with the inclusion of in-house human body model as well as with the study of interference levels is employed. Wireless channel estimations indicate an initial infrastructure node density in the order of 1node/150m(2) to 1node/500m(2) as a function of the employed transceivers. A practical solution has been implemented, combining an Android-based application and a system level architecture over the WSN for urban train transportation environmental monitoring, providing interaction between users and the environment, with the aid of a combined WSN/WLAN platform as well as an implemented software architecture, scalable in terms of user density and future needs.