Austria has been the number 1 rail country in the EU since 2015, with an average of more than 2,000 rail kilometers per capita and year - an important contribution to better sustainability. To ensure that rail traffic runs as smoothly as possible, regular maintenance is of great importance. In the workshop, all machine parts are checked inside and out. It can happen here that branches that have fallen onto the roof are overlooked, spare parts on the train roof are forgotten, or a maintenance flap is inadvertently not closed properly. Certain parts of the train roof are not easily inspected due to accessibility - even with mandatory visual inspections. This is a safety risk when releasing trains for operation - after all, trains are traveling at high speeds of 200km/h.
No blind spots on train roofs thanks to depth cameras
To meet this challenge, Zugkraft-kN and VRVis Zentrum für Virtual Reality and Visualization are developing an automated solution that uses depth cameras and data analysis to simplify the inspection of train roofs and thus speed up maintenance work. By using LIDAR cameras, which have a relatively large field of view of 60°-70°, it is possible not only to record wide areas of a train roof at once, but also to look under protrusions. The goal is a real-time, model-based comparison that quickly sounds the alarm if a foreign object, such as a tool or fallen branch, is overlooked on the train roof after all. As a result, accidents can be avoided and downtimes reduced, making a significant contribution to safe and smooth train operations in Austria.
Head of Multiple Senses, Multiple Senses
fuhrmann(at)vrvis.at +43 1 908 98 92 602Start: 01.2022
End: 12.2022
Zugkraft-kN
FFG - Innoscheck
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