TTC OPERATED BY ENSCO
Crossing-i System by Michigan Tech Demonstrated at the Transportation Technology Center Michigan Tech demonstrates the value of drones. By Colin N. Brooks, Senior Research Scientist, Michigan Tech Research Institute / MTRI Inc., Ann Arbor, MI
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n November 7th and 8th, 2023, the Transportation Technology Center (TTC) hosted over three hundred attendees at the First Annual TTC Conference and Tour. The TTC Tour included multiple site visits and demonstrations, many of which had never been seen by the public before. One such demonstration was of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) funded project, the Michigan Tech Research Institute, Inc. (MTRI) Crossing-i System, a drone inspection technology for grade crossings. Figure 1 is an overview of the
demonstration site with one of the tour groups in attendance. Why develop drone-based technology for Rail Grade Crossing Assessment? With over 200,000 highway-rail grade crossings in the U.S., ensuring safety is a top priority for the FRA. In 2018, the FRA reported 2,214 total Highway-Rail incidents that led to 270 fatalities[1]. A portion of these incidents were caused by inappropriate grade crossing design, inadequate sight distance triangles, or conditions where vehicles, such as low bed semi-trailers, became stuck on humped grade crossings are of special concern. Phase 1 of the development of this technology was funded by the FRA with the objective of developing a proof-of-concept drone-based grade crossing inspection system that leverages automated processes to reveal potential safety risks. The goals for the prototype system were to assess vertical profiles at a grade crossing against highway vehicle clearances, determine visual sight lines, and identify locations of gates, lights, and signage.
Figure 1: TTC Annual Conference attendees during the Crossing-I demonstration, November 8, 2023.
4 Railway Track & Structures // January 2024
Inspection Technology The Crossing-i system was developed by MTRI, a startup created to facilitate the commercialization of intellectual property of Michigan Tech University and its research center, the Michigan Tech Research Institute. Additionally, Michigan Tech is part of the Center for Surface Transportation Testing and Academic Research (C-STTAR), a consortium of universities and academic research centers focusing on intermodal transportation supporting TTC growth initiatives. The prototype system can determine whether vertical approach grades at grade crossings create a risk of getting stuck on the tracks for different types of vehicles, assess the adequacy of visual sight lines, and locate relevant assets such as gates, lights, signage, etc. It uses high-resolution images collected via a drone that are then processed into 3D data for analysis. The system can also use high-quality 3D data sources provided by other systems to complete the grade crossing analysis. High-resolution imagery is collected from the drone f lying adjacent to the rail grade crossing for humped crossing analysis and over a larger area for visual sight line analysis. This high-resolution imagery is processed into Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) and Orthoimagery of the rail grade crossings for vertical profile visual sight line assessment. DEMs are produced through 3D photogrammetry software and have a resolution of 0.4 inches (1 cm) or better. An example grade crossing Orthoimage and DEM data is shown in Figure 2. Easily derived from the high-resolution DEMs, the crossing slope and profiles reveal noteworthy features, as shown in Figure 3. Notably, in this example, the northern segment of the rail grade crossing exhibits a slope surpassing the recommended American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) guide’s maximum grade of 0.89% for 30 feet from the ends of the ties. Examining profiles for both northbound and southbound lanes along the example grade crossing highlights the rtands.com