A new vision for wagon safety (Новая версия безопасного вагона)

A new vision for wagon safety

Machine vision technologies have the potential to increase
both the effectiveness and efficiency of freight wagon safety inspections thereby helping to improve safety, lower costs, and increase productivity.

Semih Kalay, vice-president, technology, and James Robeda,
senior engineer with Transportation Technology Center Inc (TTCI), chart the progress and look at the challenges ahead.

THE number and types of detectors with internet data access capability has grown rapidly in North America as new technologies come on line. At the latest count, North American railways have 136 wheel impact load detectors (Wild), 25 bogie performance detectors (TPD), seven wheel profile measurement systems (WPM), and 13 acoustic bearing detector systems (ABD).  More are on order or in capital spending plans. Machine vision and other technologies being developed by TTCI in partnership with suppliers worldwide will be available within the next few years.

Machine vision technology has been used in manufacturing for some time. The technology lends itself to performing routine inspections where repetition and inspector fatigue are issues or where environmental conditions hinder or preclude manual inspection. In recent years, railway applications have been in detectors such as WPM and brake shoe measurement (BSM) systems.

The technology can enhance the inspection process because it is objective rather than subjective, and it provides historical data that can be used for trending and preventative maintenance. Using advanced technologies to enhance the wagon inspection process offers an opportunity to lower costs and increase productivity.

Machines can objectively inspect wagons without tiring or becoming distracted and can also focus on certain parts of the wagon not easily seen by an inspector on the ground.

As capacity in yards is increasingly at a premium, improving inspection efficiency should increase yard throughput. By automatically inspecting trains as they enter or leave terminals, machine vision inspection systems eliminate the need to hold a train for manual inspection.

In a railway application, a machine vision inspection system uses an array of high-speed digital cameras and either strobe or continuous lighting to capture images of the wagons as a train passes an installation a» line speed. Computer algorithms are used to positively identify components of interest and objectively assess their condition based on user defined thresholds.

This process is completely automatic from image acquisition through algorithm assessment to final notification. Inspection time and inspector subjectivity is eliminated and a vehicle condition report can be generated with exception reports automatically transmitted to the appropriate locations.

A natural extension of this technology is the inspection of the entire wagon including car-bodies, safety appliances, and undercarriages. However, this presents significant challenges which are being addressed. The wide variation of wagon types, safety appliance locations and design, and undercarriage configurations requires a very robust recognition algorithm as well as extensive image acquisition and  difficult lighting solutions.

Three machine vision systems are being developed under the Association of American Railroads (AAR) Strategic Research Initiatives (SRI). The Automated Safety Appliance Inspection System (Asais) assesses the condition of a wagon's safety appliances, such as ladders, handholds and sill steps. The Automated Inspection of Structural Components system (AISC) evaluates the condition of the wagon's underframe and structural members. The Fully Automated Train Scanning System (FATSS), currently under development will create a complete image of the top, sides, and undercarriage of each wagon in a train.

Through extensive testing at the Transportation Technology Center (TTC) in Pueblo, Colorado, TTCI has evaluated two machine vision systems capable of automatic inspection of the safety appliances on coal wagons using high-speed digital video cameras, lighting, and other sophisticated electronic equipment. As a train passes the Asais, a digital video of the train is recorded at up to 56km/h. Machine vision algorithms identify the safety appliances on wagons and detect defects. TTCI worked with Tecnogamma, Italy, and BeenaVision, United States, to develop Asais.

Новая версия безопасного вагона

Механическая версия технологий имеет потенциал в повышении эффективности и безопасности грузовых вагонных проверок помогая тем самым повысить безопасность, снизить затраты и повысить производительность.

Семих Калай, вице-президент, технологии и Джеймс Robeda, старший инженер Транспорт технологический центр Inc (TTCI), поддерживает прогресс и смотрит на вызовы будущего.

Количество и типы детекторов с интернетом возможности доступа к данным быстро вырос в Северной Америке, как новые технологии приходят на линию. По последним данным, североамериканские железные дороги 136 колес ударные нагрузки детектора (Wild), 25 тележек производительность детекторов (ТПР), семь колес профиля измерительных систем (ОРЭ), и 13 акустический детектор несущей системы (ABD). Больше находитесь на заказ или в планы капитальных расходов. Машинное зрение и другие технологии, разрабатываемые TTCI в партнерстве с поставщиками по всему миру будут доступны в течение ближайших нескольких лет.

Техническая версия была использована в производстве в течение некоторого времени. Эта технология предоставляет себя выполнение рутинных инспекций, при которых повторение и инспектор усталость вопросы или там, где условия окружающей среды мешает или препятствует ручной проверки. В последние годы железнодорожных приложений были в детекторы, такие как WPM и тормозных колодок измерения (BSM) систем.

Эта технология может улучшить процесс проверки, потому что это цель, а не субъективный, а также предоставляет исторические данные, которые могут быть использованы для анализа тенденций и профилактическое обслуживание. Использование передовых технологий для повышения эффективности процесса осмотра вагонов, дает возможность снизить затраты и увеличить производительность.