An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system for maintaining railway situational awareness, includes a ground station configured to be mounted to a train, a UAV including a sensor, a processor, and a memory. The sensor is configured to provide a signal indicative of condition and/or an event. The memory contains instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the system to: selectively deploy the UAV, from the ground station mounted to the train, receive the signal from the sensor; and determine a condition and/or an event, relative to the train, based on the sensed signal.

Systems and methods are provided for decentralized rail signaling and positive train control. A decentralized train control system may include a plurality of wayside units, configured for placement on or near tracks in a railway network, and one or more train-mounted units, each configured for use in a train operating in a railway network that support use of the decentralized train control system. Each train-mounted unit may configured to receive communicate with any wayside unit and/or train-mounted unit that comes within range, with the communicating including use of ultra-wideband (UWB) signals, and for generating control information based on the UWB signals, for use in controlling one or more functions associated with operation of the train.

An on-board apparatus to be installed on a train, the apparatus including; an on-board control device that controls running and stopping of the train during operation of the train; and an on-board wireless device that performs wireless communication with a ground apparatus, and starts the on-board control device when receiving a first signal from the ground apparatus while the train is staying overnight, the first signal notifying that the train moves, wherein while the train is staying overnight, the on-board control device is started under the control of the on-board wireless device, and performs control so as to stop the train.

A moving body control device for controlling a moving body, including an information acquisition unit that acquires moving body-specific information including a bogie position and a vehicle body mass, a moving body position, a moving body velocity, and track information including a curvature for each position of the track, and a feedforward steering angle calculation unit that calculates a steering angle by using the moving body-specific information, the moving body position, the moving body velocity, and the track information. The feedforward steering angle calculation unit calculates the steering angle according to a sum of a kinematic component calculated based on a geometrical relationship between the bogie position and the curvature of a track, and a dynamic component calculated based on an equation of motion including the bogie position, the vehicle body mass, the moving body velocity, and the curvature and a curvature change rate of the track.

Methods and systems are provided for a starter motor system for cranking an engine. In one example, a starter motor system includes, a battery, two electric motors arranged in series, two main contactors, two auxiliary contactors, and two solenoid contactors. Each of the two electric starter motors may be simultaneously energized to crank the engine in tandem after the pinion gears of both the electric motors are coupled to the ring gear of the engine.

An automated system and method of mounting wayside equipment on a surface that is adjacent to railway tracks. A robot is carried by a railway car with an included odometry system. The robot has an articulating arm that can reach between the railway car and an adjacent wall. The robot is provided with working head units. The robot can connect to, and disconnect from, the various working head units in order to perform different tasks. The tasks performed by the robot include scanning the wall for defects and obstructions that may prevent a proper mounting, drilling holes in the wall, mounting bolts in the holes, mounting brackets to the bolts, and connecting electronics units to the brackets. The robot can optionally clean the mounting site and test the mounting site for signal strength.

An automated system and method of mounting wayside equipment on a surface that is adjacent to railway tracks. A robot is carried by a railway car with an included odometry system. The robot has an articulating arm that can reach between the railway car and an adjacent wall. The robot is provided with working head units. The robot can connect to, and disconnect from, the various working head units in order to perform different tasks. The tasks performed by the robot include scanning the wall for defects and obstructions that may prevent a proper mounting, drilling holes in the wall, mounting bolts in the holes, mounting brackets to the bolts, and connecting electronics units to the brackets. The robot can optionally clean the mounting site and test the mounting site for signal strength.

A system may include a sensor that detects positioning data indicative of a position of a first coupler of a first vehicle system and positioning data indicative of a position of a second coupler of a second vehicle system during a coupling event of the vehicle systems. A controller includes one or more processors that receive the positioning data of the first and second couplers and determines whether the first coupler is misaligned with the second coupler. The controller may initiate an action of the first coupler, the second coupler, the first vehicle system, or the second vehicle system to change a position of the first coupler, the second coupler, the first vehicle system, or the second vehicle system. Changing the position of the first coupler, the second coupler, the first vehicle system, or the second vehicle system aligns the first coupler with the second coupler.

A system includes a route examining system and an off-board failsafe controller. The route examining system is configured to examine a route on which a first vehicle system is moving and to generate an inspection signal based on the route examination. The inspection signal indicates a status of a segment of the route as damaged or undamaged. The off-board failsafe controller is configured to receive the inspection signal from the route examining system. Responsive to a lack of receipt of the inspection signal within a designated time period which indicates communication loss with the route examining system, the failsafe controller is configured to generate a warning signal for communication to a second vehicle system. The warning signal is generated to direct the second vehicle system to (i) avoid traveling over the route segment or (ii) travel over the route segment or another route segment at a reduced speed.

A method includes estimating, as a function of an angular speed of wheels of an axle of a vehicle, a value of adhesion of a contact area of the wheels of said axle to a route, and calculating a value of slip of the wheels of said axle. The method also includes generating signals representative of a derivative of said adhesion as a function of the slip of the wheels of said axle, and calculating an error signal as a difference between a value of said derivative and a predetermined reference value. The method includes generating, via an adaptive filter that implements a Least Mean Square (LMS) algorithm, a driving signal based on said derivative. The LMS algorithm is continuously adapted based on the error signal to reduce and keep the error signal substantially at zero. The method includes applying said driving signal to a torque control module.