Multi-point Stereo Camera System for Controlling Safety at Railroad Crossings

Dozens of people are killed every year at railroad crossings, a situation that requires urgent action by railroad companies, especially in major cities. We are therefore developing a ubiquitous stereo vision based system for ensuring safety at railroad crossings. In this system, stereo cameras are installed at four corners and are pointed toward the center of the railroad crossing to monitor the passage of people. The system determines automatically and in real-time whether anyone or anything is inside the railroad crossing, and whether anyone remains in the crossing. The system can be configured to automatically switch over to a surveillance monitor or automatically connect to an emergency brake system in the event of trouble.