Dynamic obstacle-detecting system for railway surroundings using a highly accurate laser-sectioning method

High accuracy was obtained in real-time measurements over the wide area around the construction gauge using a laser-sectioning method. Novel imaging optics, having a different magnifying power in the horizontal and vertical directions, allows improvement in the accuracy while keeping the field of view sufficiently wide. A real-time measurement was realized by the implementation of a pipeline video-rate processor. Experiments on the Takayama Line of the Central Japan Railway confirmed that most objects such as a platform, tunnel, or bridge could be successfully detected. The range accuracy was within 10 mm in 3 σ at speeds up to 7 km/h and most objects could be detected at speeds up to 40 km/h