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KR-20260067503-A - SYSTEM FOR TRACKING DAMAGE TO RAILWAY FACILITIES USING DRONES

KR20260067503AKR 20260067503 AKR20260067503 AKR 20260067503AKR-20260067503-A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a railway facility damage tracking system using a drone, comprising: a drone that flies around a railway facility and collects captured images by photographing a damaged area of the railway facility; a motion sensor positioned adjacent to a damaged area of the railway facility that detects a drone approaching within a preset radius and transmits a detection signal; and a damage area management unit that acquires captured images from the drone, compares and analyzes the currently acquired captured images with the previously acquired captured images of the damaged area to identify and manage changes in the degree of damage of the damaged area.

Inventors

  • 윤혁진
  • 김대현
  • 박찬호
  • 김정식
  • 박춘수

Assignees

  • 한국철도기술연구원

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20241105

Claims (15)

  1. A drone (110) that flies around a railway facility and collects images by photographing damaged parts of the railway facility; A motion sensor (120) positioned at a location adjacent to the damaged part of the above railway facility, detects the drone (110) approaching within a preset radius, and transmits a detection signal to the drone (110); and A damage area management unit (130) that, after acquiring a captured image from the above drone (110), compares and analyzes the currently acquired captured image and the previously acquired captured image regarding the damaged area to identify and manage changes in the degree of damage to the damaged area, comprising: Railway facility damage tracking system using drones.
  2. In paragraph 1, The above drone (110) is, A camera device (111) that photographs the damaged part of the railway facility when the detection signal is transmitted from the motion sensor (120); A robot arm (112) for attaching a motion sensor (120) to a new damaged area; An adhesive dispenser (113) that applies an adhesive to a location adjacent to the damaged area when a damaged area of the above railway facility is discovered; and A detection signal receiving device (114) that receives a detection signal transmitted from a motion sensor (120) attached to the above railway facility; Railway facility damage tracking system using drones.
  3. In paragraph 2, The above drone (110) transmits images captured through the camera device (111) in real time to the damage area management unit (130) while flying around the railway facility, and The above-mentioned damaged area management unit (130), when a damaged area is found on the railway facility as a result of analyzing the above-mentioned captured image, applies a control signal to the drone (110) to apply the adhesive dispenser (113) to the found damaged area and to attach the motion sensor (120) to the applied adhesive using the robot arm (112). Railway facility damage tracking system using drones.
  4. In paragraph 3, The above-mentioned damaged area management unit (130) is, Determining whether there is a new damaged area of the railway facility within a captured image captured through the camera device (111) by using a deep learning algorithm including one or more of the LH-RCNN (Light Head Region-based Convolutional Neural Network) algorithm, FPN (Feature Pyramid Network) algorithm, PSPNet (Pyramid Scene Parsing Network) algorithm, and UNet algorithm. Railway facility damage tracking system using drones.
  5. In paragraph 4, The above-mentioned damaged area management unit (130) is, When it is determined that there is a new damaged area in the above-mentioned railway facility, a unique identification number is assigned to the said new damaged area, and when a new image is acquired regarding the damaged area to which the unique identification number is assigned, the time-series information of the damaged area to which the unique identification number is assigned is aligned so that the history can be tracked. Railway facility damage tracking system using drones.
  6. In paragraph 5, The above-mentioned damaged area management unit (130) is, In the process of identifying changes in damage levels for a damaged area assigned the above-mentioned unique identification number, if the newly updated damage level exceeds a management threshold, the relevant railway facility is determined to be a target for repair and reinforcement and updated in the repair and reinforcement list. Railway facility damage tracking system using drones.
  7. In paragraph 6, The above-mentioned damaged area management unit (130) is, In the process of identifying changes in damage level for a damaged area assigned the above-mentioned unique identification number, if the newly updated damage level is below the management threshold, the percentage of the change in damage level from the newly updated damage level to the management threshold is calculated, and the rate of change in damage level is updated. Railway facility damage tracking system using drones.
  8. In Paragraph 7, The above-mentioned damaged area management unit (130) is, When it is determined that the rate of change in damage level for a damaged area assigned the above-mentioned unique identification number exceeds a set threshold, the inspection cycle of the relevant railway facility is automatically adjusted to be accelerated. Railway facility damage tracking system using drones.
  9. A drone (210) that flies around a railway facility and collects images by photographing damaged parts of the railway facility; A passive marker (220) positioned at a location adjacent to the damaged part of the above railway facility and coated with a reflective material that reflects infrared rays irradiated from the drone (210); and A damage area management unit (230) that, after acquiring a captured image from the above drone (110), compares and analyzes the currently acquired captured image and the previously acquired captured image regarding the damaged area to identify and manage changes in the degree of damage to the damaged area, comprising: Railway facility damage tracking system using drones.
  10. In Paragraph 9, The above drone (210) is, A camera device (211) that irradiates infrared rays around and detects infrared rays reflected from the passive marker (220) to photograph the damaged area of the railway facility; A robot arm (212) for attaching a passive marker (220) to a new damaged area; An adhesive dispenser (213) that applies an adhesive to a location adjacent to the damaged area when a damaged area of the above railway facility is discovered; and It includes an infrared camera (214) that detects infrared rays reflected from a passive marker (220) attached to the above railway facility, and The above drone (210) transmits images captured through the camera device (211) in real time to the damage area management unit (230) while flying around the railway facility, and The above-mentioned damaged area management unit (230) applies a control signal to the drone (210) to apply the adhesive dispenser (213) to the detected damaged area and to attach a passive marker (220) to the applied adhesive using the robot arm (212) when a damaged area is found on the railway facility as a result of analyzing the above-mentioned captured image. Railway facility damage tracking system using drones.
  11. A drone (310) that flies around a railway facility and collects images by photographing damaged parts of the railway facility; A sign plate (320) placed at a location adjacent to the damaged part of the above railway facility and having a mark printed thereon that is recognizable through the drone (310); and A damage area management unit (330) that, after acquiring a captured image from the above drone (310), compares and analyzes the currently acquired captured image and the previously acquired captured image regarding the damaged area to identify and manage changes in the degree of damage to the damaged area, comprising: Railway facility damage tracking system using drones.
  12. In Paragraph 11, The above drone (310) is, A camera device (311) that photographs the damaged part of the railway facility when the mark printed on the above-mentioned sign plate (320) is recognized; A robot arm (312) for attaching a marker plate (320) to a new damaged area; and It includes an adhesive dispenser (313) that applies an adhesive to a location adjacent to the damaged area when a damaged area of the above railway facility is discovered; The above drone (310) transmits images captured through the camera device (311) in real time to the damage area management unit (330) while flying around the railway facility, and The above-mentioned damaged area management unit (330) applies a control signal to the drone (310) to apply the adhesive dispenser (313) to the detected damaged area and to attach a marker plate (320) to the applied adhesive using the robot arm (312) when a damaged area is found on the railway facility as a result of analyzing the above-mentioned captured image. Railway facility damage tracking system using drones.
  13. A drone (410) that flies around a railway facility, photographs damaged parts of the railway facility to collect images, and marks the location of the damaged parts when a new damaged part is discovered; and A damage area management unit (420) that, after acquiring a captured image from the above drone (410), compares and analyzes the currently acquired captured image and the previously acquired captured image regarding the damaged area to identify and manage changes in the degree of damage to the damaged area, comprising: Railway facility damage tracking system using drones.
  14. In Paragraph 13, The above drone (410) is, A camera device (411) that photographs the damaged part of the railway facility when a mark marked on the damaged part of the railway facility is recognized; and It includes a paint dispenser (412) for marking the above mark at the location of the new damaged area, and The above drone (410) transmits images captured through the camera device (411) in real time to the damage area management unit (420) while flying around the railway facility, and The above damage area management unit (420) applies a control signal to the drone (420) to mark the location of the damaged area through the paint dispenser (412) when a damaged area is found on the railway facility as a result of analyzing the above-described image. Railway facility damage tracking system using drones.
  15. In Paragraph 14, The above-mentioned damaged area management unit (420) is, If a damaged area is found as a result of analyzing the above-mentioned video, the coordinate values for the location of the damaged area are transmitted to the drone (420) so that the mark is displayed in alignment on the damaged area through the paint dispenser (412). Railway facility damage tracking system using drones.

Description

System for Tracking Damage to Railway Facilities Using Drones The present invention relates to a railway facility damage tracking system using a drone, and more specifically, to a railway facility damage tracking system using a drone that automatically recognizes damaged areas of railway facilities from video footage captured by a drone, marks the recognized areas with a marker or device, identifies the degree of damage and changes in the degree of damage based on the results of analyzing the video footage, and tracks the damage history, thereby enabling the rapid and efficient identification of existing damage locations and management of progress during periodic inspections. A drone refers to an aircraft or helicopter-shaped flying vehicle that flies without a human pilot, guided by radio waves, and is generally equipped with two or more rotors to ensure stability. In the early days, these drones were primarily used for military purposes such as targeting, reconnaissance, and surveillance, but recently, they are also being used for various purposes in the civilian sector. For example, the applications of drones are gradually expanding, such as by equipping them with cameras to film locations that are difficult for humans to visit in person, or by capturing video of structures to inspect external damage to railway facilities like bridges and tunnels. Meanwhile, currently, information on facility damage, such as cracks, peeling, and spalling, is extracted by analyzing every video captured individually using either human resources or AI. It is important to track existing damage and manage its progression through periodic inspections. However, precisely analyzing every video to locate the position of existing damage can lead to omissions depending on lighting and shooting environments, and since the analysis time is long, there is a need for the development of technology that can quickly and efficiently locate and capture the position of existing damage. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a railway facility damage tracking system (100) using a drone according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a drawing showing the overall shape of the drone (110) illustrated in Figure 1. Figure 3 is a flowchart showing the process of tracking the damage history of a damaged area using a captured image in the damaged area management unit (130) in sequence. Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the corresponding manuals in order from the damage area management unit (130) when the degree of damage to the damaged area exceeds the management threshold. Figure 5 is a diagram showing the state of matching time-series information of a damaged area in the damaged area management unit (130). Figure 6 is a diagram showing the state in which a new damaged area is assigned a unique identification number and managed by the damaged area management unit (130). FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a railway facility damage tracking system (200) using a drone according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a drawing showing the overall shape of the drone (210) illustrated in FIG. 7. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a railway facility damage tracking system (300) using a drone according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a drawing showing the overall shape of the drone (310) illustrated in FIG. 9. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a railway facility damage tracking system (400) using a drone according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a drawing showing the overall shape of the drone (410) shown in FIG. 11. Hereinafter, specific details for implementing the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. However, in the following description, specific descriptions regarding widely known functions or configurations will be omitted if there is a risk that the gist of the present invention may be unnecessarily obscured. In the attached drawings, identical or corresponding components are given the same reference numerals. Additionally, in the description of the following embodiments, the description of identical or corresponding components may be omitted. However, even if a description of a component is omitted, it is not intended that such component is not included in any embodiment. The advantages and features of the invented embodiments and the methods for achieving them will become clear by referring to the embodiments described below together with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below but can be implemented in various different forms, and these embodiments are provided merely to make the present invention complete and to fully inform a person skilled in the art of the scope of the invention. The terms used in this specification will be briefly explained, and