Optimizing Train Passenger Comfort with a Mobile Portal
Trains have become an increasingly popular means of transportation in Indonesia. Besides being fast, they offer a variety of comfort features for passengers. Inspired to create something that provides value-added services for train passengers, Dr. Tutun Juhana from the School of Electrical Engineering and Informatics (STEI) at Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) attempted to develop a mobile portal technology for passengers on trains.
The mobile portal in this study is a server that can be installed on a vehicle or other means of transportation and used for passenger transportation purposes. This facility offers additional services for passengers, allowing them to access various facilities via a mobile phone with a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth interface.
The mobile portal was developed using a Soekris motherboard and consists of a processor, data storage, a WiFi card, Bluetooth, and a power source. The mobile portal was then placed at the front of the train and its performance was measured. The measurements showed that the transmitted WiFi signal could cover the front of the train.
The WiFi signal strength at the farthest point from the mobile portal was around -56 dB, still above the receiver's maximum sensitivity. Access speeds for WiFi usage also tended to be similar, at around 5.8 Mbps in ad-hoc mode and 8.7 Mbps in master mode. When used in parallel, the access speed was around 120.69 Kbps for 48 parallel connections.
Meanwhile, when using a Bluetooth interface, access speeds will decrease as the distance between the mobile portal and the user increases. The decrease in access speeds will increase if WiFi and Bluetooth are used simultaneously. Access speeds with WiFi will decrease by 11.82% and 74.95% when using Bluetooth.
Menunjang Fasilitas
Based on the research results, Tutun believes that mobile portal technology has the potential to be developed in the future. "The application for accessing this technology can be tailored to the needs of railway companies, for example, a facility to order food through passenger devices," Tutun added.
In addition to these features, the app can also be developed for features like audio streaming or even chat between passengers. "Uniquely, passengers with low-end phones that only have Bluetooth can also take advantage of this feature," Tutun added.
This research was presented by Dr. Tutun Juhana in the 2010 STEI and PPTIK Research Results Seminar held on December 16, 2010.