Image Analysis System for Measuring the Thickness of Train Brakes

In this paper we propose the system that measures the thickness of train brakes automatically. The system consists of two modules: image acquisition and analysis module that measures the thickness of brakes with digitized images. In order to measure the thickness of brake shoes, the candidate curves of brake were searched and fitted with 2d curve fitting method. To detect the disk lining brake, the edge of brake was searched first within the region of interest. Experimental results indicated that the proposed method accurately measures the thickness of brake shoe and disk lining brake with an accuracy of 0.65 mm and 1.16 mm, respectively at the distance of 1.0 m from the camera.