Developing a smart tile to improve train platform safety

Train platforms are becoming more crowded, raising safety concerns by ProRail. KITT Engineering has developed a smart tile that aims to spread people across the train platform using nudges. This tile has a screen and LEDs to give those nudges to the passengers and an embedded Doppler-radar to detect crowded situations. The tile functions fully autonomously using a battery and solar energy for power and LoRaWAN for communication. The purpose of this research is to investigate whether the power and radar are sufficient for the tile to perform its intended function. Furthermore, we will take a look at the noticeability of the tile, to see if a tile is the correct medium to convey the nudges. The radar was tested at the Den Bosch train station to investigate how well the data could be used to detect activity by comparing it to data from people trackers placed by ProRail. In this comparison, the radar was shown to be capable of reliably detecting up to a distance of 1.25 metres. In addition, the available power budget of the tile was calculated, showing that it is capable of operating for an entire year without intervention. Finally, observations of how many people looked at the tile when a nudge was given show that 33% of the people who walked past the tile visibly reacted to the tile. The conclusion of this research is that the tile is capable of its intended purpose. The next for the