Author(s)

S. Hensel, C. Hasberg&R. R¨utters

Abstract

Nowadays railway supervision systems use information carriers installed along the track to define the train position or to provide information about the track as for example maximum velocities. Current data transmission devices are electronic systems, which are expensive to install and maintain. This paper proposes a novel approach to use an eddy current sensor system, mounted on trains for speed measurements, to receive data coded in a metal bar on the track. The transmission is realized with a quadrature amplitude modulation in combination with the given eddy current sensor system to show a cost-efficient and robust alternative to common railway supervision systems. Keywords: eddy current sensor system, QAM, railway disposition. 1 Introduction Actual railway disposition and supervision systems are capable of ensuring a safe railway transportation of goods and men. These systems use information carriers placed along the track to define the position of the train or to provide information about the track as for example maximum velocities. Currently, these data transmission devices are electronic systems that are activated by the passing train to transmit information. Drawbacks of these systems are the high installation and maintenance costs. Moreover it is necessary to equip the train with a special receiver only capable to work with specially designed encoders. This paper describes an elegant way to use an eddy current sensor system, already mounted on a train bogie to measure speed, by systematically manipulating the electromagnetic properties within the measurement range of the sensor system. The eddy current sensor system was originally developed at the depart-

Keywords

eddy current sensor system, QAM, railway disposition.