Charging Rail Integrity Monitoring for Position Shift Detection
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing charging rail systems do not effectively monitor the integrity of their components, leading to potential electrical disconnections and operational disruptions as components can shift over time due to vibrations or other factors, causing loose or broken connections that may go undetected.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising sensors on machines that capture images of the charging rail components, a computing system to determine current positions and compare them to target positions, identifying faults if deviations exceed a threshold, and a worksite controller to manage responses to these faults, such as instructing machines to investigate or adjust operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If charging rail components are allowed to move freely during operation, then the system is easier to install and adapt to terrain variations, but the components may shift position over time causing loose or broken electrical connections
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses sensors (cameras, LIDAR, GPS) to continuously monitor the position of charging rail components and compares them against target positions. When deviations are detected, the system generates alerts and notifications to maintenance personnel, enabling real-time feedback and corrective action to maintain connection integrity while preserving component mobility for terrain adaptation
Solution Approach 2:
The system establishes predetermined target positions for charging rail components during installation and uses these as reference points for ongoing monitoring. By setting these positions in advance and continuously comparing actual positions against them, the system can detect shifts before they cause electrical disconnections, allowing preventive maintenance
2Reliability
If the charging rail system implements continuous monitoring of component positions, then the reliability of electrical connections is improved, but the complexity of the system increases due to additional sensors and computing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs multi-functional sensors that serve both primary navigation/positioning purposes for the autonomous vehicle and secondary integrity monitoring functions for the charging rail. The same cameras, LIDAR, and GPS used for vehicle guidance also detect charging rail component positions, eliminating the need for dedicated monitoring hardware and reducing overall system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the autonomous vehicle itself as the monitoring platform, leveraging its existing sensors and computing resources to perform integrity monitoring. The vehicle's navigation system processes charging rail position data, and the vehicle's communication systems transmit alerts, allowing the vehicle to serve its primary function while simultaneously performing monitoring duties without requiring separate dedicated infrastructure
3Measurement precision
If the system uses image data to determine positions of charging rail components, then the measurement precision is improved, but the difficulty of detecting and measuring faults increases due to the need to process and analyze image data
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces intermediate reference markers or fiducial elements attached to charging rail components that have distinct visual characteristics. These intermediaries make it easier for image processing algorithms to accurately detect and measure component positions by providing high-contrast, easily recognizable features that simplify the vision processing task while maintaining measurement precision
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces complex mechanical position sensing equipment with optical image-based detection. By using cameras and image processing algorithms to detect component positions through visual features, the system achieves high measurement precision while avoiding the mechanical complexity of contact-based sensors, encoders, or physical measurement devices
Data Source
AI summary
Machines can operate based on electricity received from a charging rail system installed along a route at a worksite. Sensors on the machines capture image data indicating locations and/or orientations of components of the charging rail system. Machine controllers of the machine, and/or a worksite controller, can monitor the integrity of the charging rail system by detecting possible faults if the locations and/or orientations of one or more components vary by more than a threshold amount from target locations and/or orientations. The machine controllers and/or the worksite controller can also initiate one or more response actions when a possible fault in the charging rail system is detected.