Automatic Inspection Based on Switch Sounds of Electric Point Machines
This addresses labor-saving and preventive maintenance for railway equipment inspections, but it is incremental as it builds on existing IoT-based monitoring efforts.
The paper tackles automating inspection of electric point machines by using sound analysis to detect switching errors, achieving expected test results that enable real-time failure detection and reduce visual inspections.
Since 2018, East Japan Railway Company and Hitachi, Ltd. have been working to replace human inspections with IoT-based monitoring. The purpose is Labor-saving required for equipment inspections and provide appropriate preventive maintenance. As an alternative to visual inspection, it has been difficult to substitute electrical characteristic monitoring, and the introduction of new high-performance sensors has been costly. In 2019, we implemented cameras and microphones in an ``NS'' electric point machines to reduce downtime from equipment failures, allowing for remote monitoring of lock-piece conditions. This method for detecting turnout switching errors based on sound information was proposed, and the expected test results were obtained. The proposed method will make it possible to detect equipment failures in real time, thereby reducing the need for visual inspections. This paper presents the results of our technical studies aimed at automating the inspection of electronic point machines using sound, specifically focusing on ``switch sound'' beginning in 2019.