Semantic-Segmentation-Based Rail Fastener State Recognition Algorithm

Rail fastener status recognition and detection are key steps in the inspection of the rail area status and function of real engineering projects. With the development of and widespread interest in image processing techniques and deep learning theory, detection methods that combine the two have yielded promising results in practical detection applications. In this paper, a semantic-segmentation-based algorithm for the state recognition of rail fasteners is proposed. On the one hand, we propose a functional area location and annotation method based on a salient detection model and construct a novel slab-fastclip-type rail fastener dataset. On the other hand, we propose a semantic-segmentation-framework-based model for rail fastener detection, where we detect and classify rail fastener states by combining the pyramid scene analysis network (PSPNet) and vector geometry measurements. Experimental results prove the validity and superiority of the proposed method, which can be introduced into practical engineering projects.