Manifold Analytics Railroad Inspection
Surface
Track Inspection
Track surface inspection measures elements of the track, crossties, and overall geometry to detect current and emerging problems with the rail infrastructure. Information derived from the aerial scans can be provided in PDF reports or as KML data for viewing geospatially.
Geospatial Tools
Manifold KML allows a user to interact with the collected data and view information from a large system overview, down to sub-inch views all within Google Earth.
Google Earth KML
Clicking will Download KML File
Note: The imagery in this example KML has been significantly
reduced in resolution to minimize download time.
Rail Gage Measurement
The Manifold gage measurement algorithm can determine the distance between the rails on a track to within ¼”. These measurements are made using a high end photogrammetric aerial camera and Rosetta image processing algorithms.
Rail Gage Inspection Examples
Rail-Gage
Crosstie Orientation
Crosstie orientation analysis evaluates the rail crossties for signs of movement relative to the track. This allows the rail company to inspect for issues like crosstie degradation, track warping, and ballast settling without having to send a technician to inspect.
The green box ends at the end of each crosstie indicate the tie was detected and is within spec. The ties that are highlighted yellow or red indicate ties that require repair.
Rail Crosstie Orientation Inspection Examples
This video shows an older iteration of the crosstie orientation algorithm with regional statistics and mapping overlays applied.
Crosstie Spacing
Crosstie spacing analysis evaluates the rail crossties for signs of movement relative to each other. the track. This allows the rail company to inspect for issues like crosstie degradation, track warping, and ballast settling without having to send a technician to inspect.
The spacing measurements (shown between the ties) are colored to indicate the type of spacing issue. Red and yellow indicate spacing that is greater than expected and cyan and blue indicate spacing that is narrower than spec.
Rail Crosstie Spacing Inspection Examples
This video shows an older iteration of the crosstie spacing algorithm with regional statistics and mapping overlays applied.
Crosstie Length
Manifold rail inspection algorithms measure the lengths of the crossties to detect shortened or broken ties. Ties that are abnormally short can represent locations where crosstie ends have broken or become buried by ballast material.
This tie has been flagged as too short. On closer inspection, the end of this tie has broken and begun to fill in with ballast material.
Rail Crosstie Length Inspection Examples
Crosstie Split Detection
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Manifold rail inspection algorithms inspect the surface of rail crossties to determine if they are cracking or completely split. Additionally, they are inspected for ballast material rising through the crack, indicating a complete break.
The ties are flagged in regions where the splits are detected. Regions of sufficient length and width are highlighted red.
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Baseplate and Spike Analysis
The baseplate algorithm detects the positions of the plates at the end of each tie. The spikes are then analyzed based on a CAD model to assess if they are installed correctly.
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The blue boxes show base plate detection. The green circles indicate that a spike was found at a hole location and a red ‘x’ indicates that the hole is unused.
Vegetation Encroachment
The vegetation encroachment algorithm scans the track surface for signs of vegetation that is growing inside the right of way. This algorithm detects both trees/shrubs that are growing into the right of way, as well as significant growth through the ballast .
Rail Vegetation Encroachment Inspection Examples
Remote Asset Detection
Manifold uses geofencing to tag regions of interest along the flight path. Images collected inside a geofence are provided as a high-resolution data package that can be used for visual inspection of a hard-to-reach asset.
