Comprehensive Study on Railway Communications Systems to Support Hyperloop

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the challenges of wireless communication in Hyperloop systems, evaluates current railway communication technologies, and emphasizes the need for novel or improved solutions to meet Hyperloop's high mobility demands.

Contribution

It provides a detailed characterization of Hyperloop wireless channels and assesses existing railway communication technologies, highlighting their limitations and the necessity for new solutions.

Findings

Current railway communication technologies are inadequate for Hyperloop.

Doppler spreading significantly impacts Hyperloop wireless links.

Future solutions require designing new or improved communication methods.

Abstract

Hyperloop is a sonic-speed train transporting passengers and freights in a vacuum tube without friction or air resistance. Two essential communications in such vehicles are central control connection and real-time dispatching, also an optional data connection for passengers is welcome. The high mobility of Hyperloop imposes a severe impact on the performance of wireless communication links. Therefore, designing a new wireless communication system is necessary to cope with the challenges. Motivated by the importance of doppler spreading, this paper focuses on the characterizations of the wireless channel in Hyperloop and then analyzes the performance degradation of the radio link. Afterward, a comprehensive overview of the present railway communication technologies as potential solutions for the Hyperloop project and a detailed discussion of their cons and pros are provided. It is shown that current communication technologies are not satisfactory for this scenario. Finally, this paper concludes the key points that need to be considered in future railway communications systems in order to overcome the Hyperloop communication challenges. So, we open up a new issue that Hyperloop communications require designing a novel method or improving the existing technologies or a combination of different techniques (some of these techniques are mentioned).