A software developer has come up with a high visibility vest for rail workers with LED lights that flash when a train is coming.
The SmartVest has low-energy light emitting diodes (LEDs) that respond to hazards. It has been invented by a software developer called 3Squared, which says it is bringing the hi-viz vest “into the 21st century”.
For trackside railway workers, the SmartVest will take information from live data feeds to provide automated visual alerts. Different coloured lighting is used to create different alerts for individual workers and groups of workers, helping them to identify a possible hazard.
Site plans are uploaded to the SmartSafe virtual zone management platform, demarcating safe areas from hazardous ones and defining exclusion zones, such as near power cables.
Once out on site, the software uses iBeacon technology to establish and monitor these virtual zones.
