Author(s)

S. Borromeo & J. L. Aparicio

Abstract

Measuring systems which automatically detect the degree of wire wear are necessary in order to carry out efficient infrastructure management and maintenance based on contact wire condition. The problem of wear measurement characterized by some important determining factors like rate of sampling and auscultation conditions is studied in detail. This paper describes different developments, based on computer vision, to measure contact wire wear. In general, computer vision in railways contributes towards improved service quality, reduced costs and increased security. This paper concludes with a comparative analysis of different computer vision systems to measure contact wire wear. Keywords: catenary inspection, contact wire wear, computer vision systems, railways. 1 Introduction Computer vision has already successfully used for many industrial applications such as production-line inspection, robotics, medical imaging, remote sensing and machine condition monitoring [1]. However, relatively little works have been reported about the application of modern computer vision technology in the railway. This may be because, traditionally, railways have only slowly been penetrated by innovative technologies. The principal motivation for the use of computer vision railways industry is the drive to more cost-effective and hence automated operation and maintenance of railway networks. The use of computer

Keywords

catenary inspection, contact wire wear, computer vision systems, railways.