Remote Control of Railway Switch Heating Using GSM Modems

Abstract

This research activity examines the possibility of remote control of the heating of railway switches. The study and implementation of the remote-control system of resistive heaters using the Global Mobile Communication System (GSM) through SMS messages (Short Message Service) and AT (attention) commands is presented in this article. The research works envisaged are convergent on the functionality of a GSM protocol, which allows the user to control the heating of the remote railway switches, away from the place where the switches were installed. The notions of serial communication, electronic control and AT control have been applied to expand the system. To increase the robustness of the system, a feedback mechanism was introduced so that users will be able to get a feedback status of the system when the command was successfully sent or in the case of voltage drops and system restarts.