Track monitoring system

Abstract

A track monitoring system (and a method thereof) for mounting to a vehicle on a track comprising at least one rail is provided. The track monitoring system comprises a position and attitude measurement unit configured to determine a geographical position and attitude of the system during at least one pass of the vehicle on the track; a storage medium for storing track geometry data; a laser imaging and / or scanning unit configured to determine a position of the at least one rail and surroundings relative to the track monitoring system during the at least one pass, and a position of the at least one rail relative to the track monitoring system; a processor configured to determine, in the at least one pass, a first geographically referenced rail position based on the geographical position and attitude of the rail monitoring system and the position of the at least one rail relative to the system, determine, in the at least one pass, a second geographically referenced rail position based on the geographical position and attitude of the rail monitoring system and the position of the at least one rail and surroundings relative to the rail monitoring system, determine a third geographically referenced rail position based on the first and the second geographically referenced rail positions, and corresponding geographically referenced track geometry data, acquire, in a further pass, track geometry data associated with each position of the rail relative to the rail monitoring system, and the output of the position and attitude measurement unit, update, based on the third geographically referenced position of the rail, the track geometry data acquired in the further pass, and store updated track geometry data to the storage medium.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates to railway infrastructure and, more particularly, to a track monitoring system adapted to be mounted to vehicles such as freight or passenger trains. Background technique [0002] Monitoring the condition of railway tracks or the sleepers, rails etc. of which they are composed is essential to ensure the safety of long-term operation. For example, tracks experience wear and damage over time due to physical stress caused by train movement, weather conditions, and other factors that damage the track material. Regular monitoring of the track can help identify such damage or deterioration. This in turn enables efficient maintenance of the track, for example without incurring additional costs due to damaged track beyond repair at the time of inspection. [0003] In recent years, many dedicated track inspection systems have appeared on the market. Trolleys with GPS systems and / or camera units can be manually operated to inspec...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

However, in the state of the art, the geospatial location of the orbit and the orbit geometry (orbit condition) are treated as separate measurements, so their correlation is rarely analyzed

Furthermore, due to the inaccuracy of GPS signals, it is not possible in the state of the art to use rail geolocation data to improve track geometry values

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