A Lightweight Robotic Device for the Inspection of Railway Pantograph

Abstract

Periodic assessment of railway pantograph is essential for the safety of railways. Nevertheless, actual devices can only perform a rough analysis of suspensions and no clue on the structural integrity is provided. In this paper, we introduce a portable robotic device that achieves the goal through two kinds of tests. Laboratory experiments show how the preliminary quasi-static test can assess the suspension in terms of uplift force, joints friction and damping. The diagnosis capability of the dynamic test is ensured by simulating both a suspension and a structural fault. Damages evidence appear even in the low-frequency band, below 5 Hz. Results encourage further studies to introduce a new class of maintenance routines based on the present device.