Verkehrsinfrastruktur, MdZ 1. Call (2012)

RIMS

RIMS - radar based infrastructure monitoring

Challenge
Rail infrastructure is easily exposed to disturbances by nature such as landslides and flooding. Most rail infrastructure is accessible by non-authorised persons since the area cannot be fenced. More recently, disturbances are caused by trespassing, sabotage and theft/pilferage of essential infrastructure elements. The results are disruption or failure of operation leading to costs of delay, repair and maintenance. To avoid such occurrences, it becomes more and more necessary to monitor the rail infrastructure area outside passenger and freight stations.
Potential disturbances have to be detected at the earliest stage to take the respective measures and reduce damage. Infrastructure managers therefore are looking for solutions to detect the potential existence of situations leading to operational obstacles in an area-wide and self-sufficient manner.

Objective
It is the objective to develop a monitoring system based on microwave radar covering the whole area of rail infrastructure. The advantage of such sensors is their energy-saving operation, robustness, operating distance and their immunity to weather conditions. The system of detectors installed in distances of some hundred meters on pylons or noise protection walls is fast and easy to install. The detectors are self-assembled and linked with each other and a monitoring centre. In this way, false alarms can be avoided and the operational situation of the infrastructure can be displayed in a micro, macro and meso form.
The respective monitoring systems and their software tools shall be developed. The system shall be submitted to laboratory tests in the realm of a pilot/demonstrator.

Result
The project shall demonstrate under which framework conditions microwave radar sensors can be utilized for an area-wide monitoring of transport infrastructure, under which conditions self-sufficient operation and network linking prove to be effective and what monitoring results can be detected under high quality conditions. The research concentrates on the application of the system in railway infrastructure. However, its application for other transport infrastructure is possible.