Under the Association of American Railroads (AAR) Strategic Research Initiatives (SRI) Program, MxV Rail (formerly TTCI) conducted a camera placement and optimization study for the reliable inspection of E-Type coupler securement components. Cross key, cross key retainer, and cotter pin visibility were of particular interest. The obstruction of the view path posed by hardware and variants across the car types can contribute to inconsistencies in the machine vision system (MVS) inspection ability across AAR car types. This camera placement and optimization study was conducted to determine the optimal camera placement for consistent imaging of existing AAR car types. BACKGROUND Coupler securement must be ensured for safe and reliable operations. A current federal regulation1 defines the inspection of draft gear components as a visual process that human inspectors perform on stationary equipment. Acceptance of the rolling stock component health is based on the limits defined by AAR standards and federal regulations.…
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