System and method for extracting and processing railway-related data

Abstract

The invention discloses a system and method for extracting and processing rail data. Disclosed are a first sensor measuring first sensor data, a local processing component preprocessing the first sensor data, a central server analyzing preprocessed data, a memory component storing preprocessed and/or analyzed data, and an interface communicating with the central server.

1 . A system for extracting and processing rail data, the system comprising
 at least one first sensor configured to measure first sensor data;   at least one local processing component configured to receive first sensor data and preprocess it to obtain preprocessed sensor data;   a central server configured to receive preprocessed sensor data and analyze it to produce analyzed sensor data;   a memory component configured to store at least one of the preprocessed sensor data and the analyzed sensor data;   an interface configured to communicate with the central server.   
     
     
         2 . The system according to  claim 1  wherein the interface is configured to send a query to the central server and wherein the central server is configured to analyze the preprocessed sensor data to provide the analyzed sensor data corresponding to the query. 
     
     
         3 . The system according to  claim 1  further comprising at least one second sensor configured to measure second sensor data. 
     
     
         4 . The system according to  claim 1  wherein the first sensor is configured to hibernate until detecting a specific data pattern. 
     
     
         5 . The system according to  claim 3  wherein the second sensor is configured to hibernate until receiving communication from the first sensor. 
     
     
         6 . The system according to  claim 3 , wherein the second sensor is configured to send second sensor data to the first sensor, and the first sensor is configured to send both the first sensor data and the second sensor data to the local processing component. 
     
     
         7 . The system according to  claim 7  wherein the local processing component and the first sensor comprise separate devices and communicate via wireless short range communication protocol. 
     
     
         8 . The system according to  claim 7  wherein the local processing component is integrated in a relay station configured to preprocess first sensor data and forward it to the central server and wherein the relay station is configured to receive sensor data from a plurality of sensors and preprocess it separately. 
     
     
         9 . The system according to  claim 7  wherein the central server is configured to detect anomalies in the preprocessed data and evaluate status of railway components based on the detected anomalies. 
     
     
         10 . The system according to  claim 1  wherein the central server is configured to send at least one of
 sensor instructions comprising measurement parameters adjustment to the first sensor; and 
 local processing component instructions comprising preprocessing parameters adjustment to the local processing component; and 
 
       wherein the at least one of the sensor instructions and the local processing component instructions are based on the analyzed sensor data. 
     
     
         11 . The system according to  claim 1  wherein the first sensor is configured to perform in different modes other than standard operation, and wherein the modes can be optimized for specialized monitoring. 
     
     
         12 . The system according to  claim 1  wherein the local processing component is configured to determine an optimal time to send the preprocessed sensor data to the central server and wherein the optimal time is determined based on at least one of connection strength, connection availability, weather, incoming sensor data, time of day and schedule of rail operations. 
     
     
         13 . A method for extracting and processing rail data, the method comprising
 measuring first sensor data via at least one first sensor;   preprocessing first sensor data via at least one local processing component to obtain preprocessed sensor data;   sending preprocessed sensor data to a central server;   analyzing preprocessed sensor data by the server to obtain analyzed sensor data;   storing at least one of preprocessed sensor data and analyzed sensor data in a memory component;   communicating with the central server via an interface.   
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 13  further comprising
 sending a query to the central server via the interface; 
 analyzing preprocessed sensor data to provide the analyzed sensor data corresponding to the query; and 
 transmitting analyzed sensor data from the server to the interface. 
 
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 13  further comprising adjusting at least one of first sensor measurement parameters and preprocessing based on analyzed sensor data. 
     
     
         16 . The method according to  claim 13  further comprising
 measuring second sensor data via at least one second sensor; and 
 measuring railway sleeper vibration via at least one of the first sensor and the second sensor. 
 
     
     
         17 . The method according to  claim 16  further comprising the second sensor sending second sensor data to the first sensor and the first sensor sending both the first sensor data ( 10 ) and the second sensor data to the local processing component. 
     
     
         18 . The method according to  claim 13  further comprising the first sensor and the local processing component communicating via a short range wireless communication protocol and wherein the local processing component is integrated into a relay station and wherein the method further comprises the relay station receiving sensor data from a plurality of sensors, preprocessing it and forwarding it to the central server. 
     
     
         19 . The method according to  claim 13  further comprising at least one of
 applying a low-pass filter to the first sensor data; 
 sampling first sensor data with the frequency of sampling adjusted based on the first sensor data; 
 filtering out interference due to neighboring railway sleeper vibrations as part of preprocessing. 
 
     
     
         20 . The method according to  claim 16  further comprising evaluating the level of at least one of abrasion and wear of a railway switch based on the analyzed sensor data.