A method for determining an actual geometry of a track by a track inspection vehicle which is movable on the track, wherein reference points positioned in a lateral environment of the track are automatically recorded by a non-contacting recording system arranged on the track inspection vehicle and their respective actual distance from the track is determined. A three-dimensional trajectory of the track is recorded by an inertial measuring system arranged on the track inspection vehicle, wherein the trajectory is divided by a computing unit into trajectory sections each having a section starting point related to a first reference point and a section end point related to a second reference point, wherein a virtual longitudinal chord is defined for each trajectory section in relation to the assigned reference points, and wherein actual distances between the trajectory and the respectively defined longitudinal chord are calculated for each trajectory section.

A rail position measurement device that measures a three-dimensional position of a rail using a measurement vehicle includes: a position posture measurement device to measure a position and a posture of the measurement vehicle; and a laser scanner that is a sensor installed on the measurement vehicle so as to be capable of irradiating at least a web and a bottom of a side surface of the rail with laser light and used for measuring the three-dimensional position of the rail.

The present invention is provided with: a sensing unit which is provided in a vehicle and measures the three-dimensional shape of an object; a matching unit for performing matching between multiple sets of structure information, in which are associated a data group indicating the three-dimensional shapes of structures provided beforehand near a path the vehicle will travel along and positional information indicating the posit ions of the structures, and a data group indicating the three-dimensional shape of the object measured by the sensing unit, and for specifying the position of the object; and an estimated position determination unit for determining, with the position specified by the matching unit as a reference position, the estimated position of the vehicle on the basis of the reference position.

Novel tools and techniques for monitoring railway track geometry. In one aspect, some such tools and techniques can determine a location of a platform along a railway, capture one or more images of the railway, and/or analyze the rail configuration at that point. In another aspect, some solutions might employ photogrammetric techniques to analyze the rail configuration and thereafter store data about the rail configuration, perhaps correlated with the location of the images, in a data store.

A vehicle positioning system includes processing circuitry in communication with the vehicle. The system further includes a memory connected to the processing circuitry, where the memory is configured to store executable instructions that, when executed by the processing circuitry, facilitate performance of operations. The operations include to receive vehicle-speed data from a first set of sensors operably coupled to the vehicle. The operations further include to predict a vehicle location based on the vehicle-speed data. The operations further include to receive inertial data from a second set of sensors operably coupled to the vehicle, and update the predicted vehicle location based upon the inertial data.

A device for detecting railway equipment defects, comprising at least three diagnostic modules mounted on a generic railway vehicle: a first module (geometrical module) configured to measure at least a geometrical feature of the track; a second module (acceleration module) configured to measure in at least a point of said vehicle the side and/or vertical accelerations transmitted from the track to said vehicle; a third module (visual module) configured to acquire the images of the track elements and to analyze them to verify the presence of anomalies;
said modules being configured to associate with each detection carried out when the railway vehicle passes, on which they are mounted, the position where the detection was carried out and to calculate, for each detection, a severity index representative of the deviation of the detection with respect to the standard condition without defects.

An example automated locomotive spotting system includes a locomotive having a tractive effort mechanism for moving the locomotive along a track, and a locomotive controller configured to control the tractive effort mechanism to move the locomotive along the track. The locomotive controller includes an odometer configured to monitor a distance traversed by the locomotive along the track. The locomotive controller is configured to receive a requested spotting distance value, and initiate movement of the locomotive along the track via the tractive effort mechanism. The locomotive controller is also configured to monitor, by the odometer, the distance traversed by the locomotive along the track, and inhibit movement of the locomotive in response to the monitored odometer distance indicating the locomotive has traversed the requested spotting distance.

System includes a controller configured to obtain one or more of a route parameter or a vehicle parameter from discrete examinations of one or more of a route or a vehicle system. The route parameter is indicative of a health of the route over which the vehicle system travels. The vehicle parameter is indicative of a health of the vehicle system. The discrete examinations of the one or more of the route or the vehicle system separated from each other by one or more of location or time. The controller is configured to examine the one or more of the route parameter or the vehicle parameter to determine whether the one or more of the route or the vehicle system is damaged. The system also includes examination equipment configured to continually monitor the one or more of the route or the vehicle system responsive to determining that the one or more of the route or the vehicle is damaged.

In a system and method for operating a system having a rail, a stationary unit, rail-guided mobile parts, and a slotted hollow waveguide, either a first one of the mobile parts or the stationary unit functions as a transmitter, and a second one of the mobile parts functions as a receiver. The transmitter is configured for the simultaneous transmission of an electromagnetic signal and an acoustic signal, e.g., at a first instant. The receiver, which is set apart from the transmitter, is configured to detect the arrival of the electromagnetic signal at a second instant and to detect the arrival of the acoustic signal at a third instant. The second mobile part has an evaluation unit which is configured to determine the distance between the transmitter and the receiver based on the acquired second and third instants.

A method detects systematic deviations during a determination of a movement variable of a ground-based, more particularly rail-based, vehicle. To optimize the operation of the vehicle, more particularly to minimize operational restrictions during operation of the vehicle, the method proposes that—based on a measurement value, assigned to a time, of at least one sensor, a value, assigned to the time, of the movement variable is determined and—subject to the value, assigned to the time, of the movement variable and a statistical sensor accuracy value, determined for this value, of the at least one sensor, a test variable value, assigned to the time, is formed and is compared in a comparison with a predefined test bound in order to make an assumption regarding an existence of a systematic deviation. The assumption is subject to a comparison result obtained from the comparison.