RAILWAY OBSTACLE DETECTION SYSTEM AND METHOD

摘要

A scanning laser beam railway obstacle detection system disposable on-board a railway vehicle transportable over railway tracks comprises: a laser scanning module optically coupled to a laser source for scanning a laser beam over the tracks ahead of the vehicle with a predetermined pattern; a light detector for receiving light echoes from the scanned laser beam and for converting the light echoes into electrical signals representative thereof; and a processor for processing the electrical signals from the light detector to detect an obstacle ahead of the vehicle. A method of detecting a threat to a railway vehicle transportable over railway tracks comprises the steps of: generating a laser beam; scanning the laser beam over the tracks ahead of the vehicle with a predetermined pattern; receiving light echoes from the scanned laser beam and converting the light echoes into electrical signals representative thereof; determining positions of the light echo signals along the scan pattern; and processing the light echo signals and corresponding positions to produce an image of a scene ahead of the vehicle for use in detecting a threat to the vehicle.