A data collection system includes: a monitoring device that sequentially instructs two or more in-vehicle devices installed in a railroad car to start operating and to stop operating; and an auxiliary power supply that sequentially measures an output voltage and an output current while the in-vehicle devices operate in turns in accordance with an instruction from the monitoring device, and records measurement results.

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.

In one embodiment, a method includes capturing, by a machine vision device, an image of an object in a railway environment. The machine vision device is attached to a first train car that is moving in a first direction along a first railroad track of the railway environment. The method also includes analyzing, by the machine vision device, the image of the object using one or more machine vision algorithms to determine a value associated with the object. The method further includes determining, by the machine vision device, that the value associated with the object indicates a potential deficiency of the object and communicating, by the machine vision device, an alert to a component external to the first train car. The alert comprises an indication of the potential deficiency of the object.

A resonant sensor probe assembly includes a substrate formed from one or more dielectric materials and free-standing electrodes coupled with the substrate. The free-standing electrodes are configured to be placed into the fluid and to generate an electric field between the free-standing electrodes. A controller measures an impedance response of the sensor to the fluid between the electrodes to determine an aging effect of the sensor.

A distribution device includes: a data acquisition unit acquiring operation data, which includes position information indicating train position when a measured value is acquired and information on the measured value, from a vehicle information management device collecting the measured value indicating operating state of equipment on a train; a history data management unit determining a representative value for each position information, generating and storing history data including the position information and information on the representative value, and distributing the history data to a data receiving device; and a connection management unit reading, based on the position information included in the operation data, the representative value corresponding to the position information from the history data, calculating a difference value between the measured value included in the operation data and the representative value, and distributing difference data including the position information and information on the difference value to the data receiving device.

A locomotive system is provided that includes a platform, plural wheel-axle sets operably coupled to the platform, a reservoir attached to the platform and configured to hold a fluid, and a resonant sensor probe assembly coupled to the reservoir. The sensor probe assembly includes a substrate formed from one or more dielectric materials and free-standing electrodes coupled with the substrate. The free-standing electrodes are configured to be placed into the fluid, to generate an electric field between the free-standing electrodes, and to measure an impedance response of the sensor to the fluid between the electrodes.

A method for determining the position of a track-guided vehicle, in particular a rail vehicle, includes readjusting a distance measuring device on the vehicle for obtaining position-determining distance measurement values based on position marker information available at position markers on the track, wherein the position marker information is captured by a position marker information recorder connected to the distance measuring device. In order to be able to carry out an exact determination of the position of a track-guided vehicle in a comparatively simple way, the position marker information of the same position marker is detected again by a further position marker information recorder being offset relative to the first position marker information recorder in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and a generation of further position-determining distance measurement values is initiated. A positioning device for determining the position of a track-guided vehicle is also provided.

An automatic train operation device includes: a step command start position determining unit to determine whether a train passes through a step command start position that is a position a certain distance before a target stop position of the train; a deceleration command generating unit to generate a deceleration command to control braking force of a braking device in a section from the step command start position that the train passes through to the target stop position at which the train stops; and a travel history storage unit to store travel state information and the deceleration command for the section as a plurality of travel histories. When the step command start position is determined by the step command start position determining unit, the deceleration command generating unit generates the deceleration command by using the travel histories.

A railway condition monitoring device includes an acquirer structured to be attached to a railway vehicle bogie and acquire state information on one or more state of vibration, speed, acceleration, sound, reflected light, image, temperature, humidity, and a wheel diameter, a determiner structured to be attached to a bogie, perform a determination of a state of a track on which the bogie travels or a state of the bogie based on the state information acquired by the acquirer, and provide the determination result, a transmitter structured to be attached to the bogie and transmit the determination result to an outside of the bogie, and a power supplier structured to be attached to the bogie and supply power to the acquirer and the transmitter.

There is disclosed a driverless transport system, DTS, (10) comprising: a travelling course (12), formed of routes (14), preferably travelled unidirectionally, which are defined respectively by one track (28), and of markers (16); a fleet (18) of at least two driverless transport vehicles, DTV, (20) travelling along the tracks (28) in a forcibly guided manner; and at least one station (26) defined by: at least one of the tracks (28), at least one of the markers (16), and an individualizing assigned station identifier; wherein each of the stations (26) can comprise a terminal (70) for allocation of travelling destination and wherein each of the stations (26) represents an area of the travelling course (12), within which the DTVs (20) can get assigned a new travelling destination and/or can be loaded, unloaded, energetically charged, and/or stopped; wherein the markers (16) include information, which is station-specific by being associating the respective information with the respectively assigned station identifier; wherein each of the DTVs (20) comprises: a communication unit (52) for transmitting and receiving information; a marker-detection unit (54) for reading, preferably contactless, the information from the markers (16); and a controlling unit (58) for processing read and received information; and wherein communication between the DTV (20) and communication between the DTVs (20) and terminals (70) is respectively performed directly, and in particular in a DTV-unspecific manner.