Overview
Any plan to install a European Train Control System (ETCS) must ensure that an extremely high level of safety is achieved. Every ETCS project requires the measurement of the existing infrastructure. These measurements must focus on the danger points as input to the database. The infrastructure changes with time therefore the input data must be frequently verified and updated. Capturing and inputting this data is very time and labor intensive. The Hyperion system has been developed to rapidly and reliably capture and input the critical information necessary for the ETCS.
The Hyperion system acquires data along the railway tracks to collect information about the signaling and ground elements, localizes them on the railway network map and compares this information to the one available in the database used by the ETCS.
Hyperion consists of two main components:
- a train-based data-acquisition unit
- an office-based element recognition and verification software
Train-based data-acquisition unit
Embedded acquisition hardware
Office-based element recognition and verification software
The office-based software automatically detects, identifies, geolocalizes the sidetrack signaling and on-track ground elements using the synchronized data acquired by the stereo-pair cameras, the 3D LIDAR, the on-track 2D LIDAR, and the position sensors. The recognized elements are then mapped on the railway network reference map and compared to database used by the ETCS.
Point clouds reconstructed from 3D LIDAR data (left panel) and from 2D LIDAR data (right panel)
One of the stereo pair images showing detected elements (left panel) and the position of the train on the railway network map (right panel)
Hyperion, one of the best tools to address a V-cycle process project
Benefits of the Hyperion System
- Minimum impact on the normal operation of the railway (Data acquisition at up to 120 km/h)
- Simultaneous data acquisition from both sides of the train
- Periodic verification of the infrastructure in accordance with the ETCS standard
- Monitoring changes to the infrastructure
- Perfect tool to integrate in V-cycle projects
Hyperion’s Genesis
The Hyperion system has been jointly designed and developed by Cegelec Infra Technics and ADCIS to meet the technical demands of Infrabel, the company in charge of building and maintenance of the Belgian Railway Network.
ADCIS skill and expertise in image processing and recognition including:
- Calibration of simultaneously captured multi-sensor data (cameras, 2D & 3D LIDARs) for mapping
- Detection from the 2D and 3D data
- Object recognition using Deep Learning technics
has been used to develop the software application that automatically detects and identifies the signaling and ground elements necessary for the ETCS.
