Verification of Interoperability Protocol for Commercial Proximity Detection Systems

This report describes the outcomes from a project to develop an independent software verification tool to assess the compliance of proximity detection systems with an open industry communications protocol.

The requirement for this tool is driven by the fact that collision management is a major issue for the open cut coal mining industry from both safety and cost viewpoints. In an effort to effectively mitigate the risks associated with this issue, effective collision avoidance strategies are required. These strategies frequently include proximity detection systems which are increasingly being installed on mobile equipment and people. However, there are many different proximity detection systems on the market, each one with its own proprietary hardware, communications, logging and warning systems and performance. This lack of interoperability can create significant problems for end users by restricting workers from entering only certain parts of the mining operation or by forcing them to wear multiple devices to ensure detection. The fundamental absence of interoperability between proximity detection systems is impacting the uptake of proximity detection technology and limiting the development of more integrated collision management systems.

To overcome this challenge an open industry backed communications protocol is required. Any commercial proximity detection system or OEM equipment can then be systematically tested to verify it is interoperable using the open protocol. This project addresses this need by developing an independent software verification tool that can be used to test the compliance of a device to the accepted protocol.

This report will provide a brief project background including previous work. It will also give an overview of the ISO 21815 standard and the underlying SAE J1939 standard before discussing the design and implementation of the software tool.

This project has delivered a software verification tool that can be used by end users to validate that equipment is capable of communicating using the ISO 21815 standard. It also provides functionality that can be used by equipment manufacturers to test their products during the development cycle.