“Electronic Sensory” Smart Sensor
2022-08-25
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One of the key contributors to the safe, stable, high-speed, and intelligent operation of the “Fuxing” high-speed train is the smart sensor. Let’s join Associate Professor Wang Zhipeng from Beijing Jiaotong University as we take a closer look at smart sensors and explore this cutting-edge technological tool.
Key insight: The intelligent sensors’ features—such as self-diagnosis of faults and self-awareness of the operating environment—maximally reduce drivers’ workload, enhance train safety and on-time performance, and also lower traction energy consumption.
Xinhua Net: On January 6, 2022, the new Olympic-version Fuxing intelligent high-speed train set was officially unveiled. The Olympic-version Fuxing not only retains the intelligent services and intelligent operation and maintenance features of the standard Fuxing high-speed train set, but also introduces new intelligent driving functions. Could you please tell us how smart sensors are helping to power the new Olympic-version Fuxing’s intelligent driving capabilities?
Wang Zhipeng: Intelligent sensors enable “attended autonomous driving.” As the name suggests, “attended autonomous driving” involves real-time monitoring of the train’s operational status and its operating environment, ensuring that the train can make safe, self-directed decisions throughout its journey and maintain fully automated operation. During this process, the driver minimizes intervention in the train’s driving tasks, serving primarily as a supervisor and emergency-prevention backup. Intelligent sensors take over functions such as self-diagnosis of train malfunctions and self-sensing of the operating environment, thereby replacing many of the perception-based tasks and operations that traditionally relied on human drivers. This significantly reduces the driver’s workload, allowing the driver to simply press a button to initiate automatic departure at scheduled times, automatic operation between stations, automatic stopping upon arrival at stations, and automatic door opening upon stopping—all seamlessly integrated into a coordinated process. Throughout operation, intelligent sensors continuously monitor the train’s own health and operational condition, while also detecting whether there are any foreign objects ahead of the train and whether the train’s operating environment is normal. In doing so, they provide comprehensive, multi-dimensional sensing information for attended autonomous driving. Intelligent sensors not only enhance the train’s safety but also improve its punctuality—ensuring that delays or other special circumstances caused by driving factors are virtually eliminated.
A fascinating insight: The term “smart sensor” may sound distant and unfamiliar to passengers, yet with a closer look, one can find that smart sensors are “everywhere” on the Fuxing high-speed train. The data they collect is displayed on screens in the passenger compartments; they transform into high-definition, high-speed cameras capable of monitoring the operating environment in real time; and strategically placed around the “pantographs” on the roof, they serve as powerful “weapons” ensuring the safe operation of the train.
Xinhua Net: Generally speaking, smart sensors are distributed in critical areas of trains, such as the running gear and traction system, making them difficult for the public to observe directly. Yet, once you’re inside the train, you can feel their “power” every single moment. Could you tell us about some of the smart sensors on the “Fuxing” high-speed trains that are directly observable?
Wang Zhipeng: When passengers ride the “Fuxing” high-speed train, if they pay close attention, they’ll notice the smart sensors exposed throughout the train—such as those in the passenger compartments that display real-time information on indoor temperature, humidity, and travel speed. All of this data is actually collected by these sensors. At the front of the train, there are often high-definition cameras capable of capturing ultra-high-resolution footage, much like dashcams in cars. These cameras continuously monitor and record the safety conditions ahead of the train, providing drivers with valuable real-time data to aid in decision-making. On top of the “Fuxing” train, there are several pantographs—similar to the ones you might see on trolleybuses, where electric buses draw power via pantographs. The “Fuxing” also relies on pantographs for power supply. The relationship between the pantographs and the overhead catenary system is a key focus of our monitoring efforts. Therefore, near the pantographs of the “Fuxing,” we typically deploy a variety of sensors—including structured-light sensors, laser sensors, and infrared sensors—as well as complementary lighting equipment. These devices enable us to monitor in real time whether the contact between the pantograph and the catenary is good and whether both the pantograph and the catenary themselves are in safe working condition, thereby effectively ensuring the safe and smooth operation of the “Fuxing.”
Source: Science China Jointly produced by the Science Communication Department of the China Association for Science and Technology and Xinhua Net Any information sourced from other media outlets is reprinted from those sources and does not necessarily reflect the views of this website. The purpose of reprinting this article is to provide additional information. If there are errors in the source attribution or if your legitimate rights and interests have been infringed upon, please contact us, and we will promptly correct or remove the content. Thank you. |
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