Intelligent communications, command, and control system for a land-based vehicle

A communication method for a railroad train comprising at least one locomotive for automatically adjusting a communication system to provide effective communication of command data for control of the operation of the train, the method comprising:

• providing a transceiver on a locomotive and at least one transceiver remote from the locomotive, the transceiver constituting part of a communications system;
• directing command data via the communication system;
• storing in a database data indicative of a plurality of communication schemes available to the communication system;
• sensing a parameter indicative of the quality of the communications sent via the communications system;
• generating data indicative of communications quality;
• and
• selecting a second communication scheme when the quality of the communications provided by the first communication scheme is not satisfactory to ensure that the command data will be reliably communicated with respect to the locomotive.

A communication system for a vehicle for selecting a preferred communication scheme for providing reliable data communication to the vehicle, the system comprising:

• a first transceiver on the vehicle;
• a second transceiver remote from the first transceiver in communication with the first transceiver;
• a first monitor for sensing a parameter in the communication system that affects the quality of the communication between the transceivers;
• a first database of communication schemes available to the transceivers;
• a second database relating the parameter sensed by the monitor to anticipated levels of communication quality for each communication scheme;
• and
• a processor in communication with the monitor, first database and second database for selecting a preferred communication scheme to provide a satisfactory level of communication quality for the parameter sensed by the monitor, and for communicating the preferred communication scheme to at least one of the transceivers.

An intelligent communication, command and control system for a railroad train comprising at least one locomotive, the system comprising:

• a communication system configured to provide a plurality of communication schemes for communicating command data usable for controlling operation of the train;
• control equipment configured to provide a plurality of control modes responsive to command data communicated via the communication system;
• a database storing data for associating the plurality of communication schemes with the plurality of control modes based on the data communication requirements of each respective control mode;
• and
• a processor coupled to the database configured to match a communication scheme with a control mode for reliable control of the operation of the train in response to the command data communicated via the communication system.