Korea Railroad Prevents 'Kkachijip' Power Outage Accidents Using AI

Electric Wire Magpie Nest Automatic Inspection System Process. Provided by Korea Railroad

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) is integrating and utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) technology to detect and remove magpie nests.

KORAIL announced on the 16th that it has designated the period from this month to May as the "Overhead Line Special Management Period" and will prevent power outages by applying an AI-based real-time automatic detection system.

Until now, on-site maintenance staff have patrolled the area on foot or train drivers have visually inspected to identify and remove magpie nests.

This is because twigs, wires, and other materials used by magpies to build nests can cause power outages on overhead lines, so risk factors need to be removed in advance.

However, going forward, the real-time automatic detection system will identify risk factors such as magpie nests and send the information to field staff, enabling prompt removal operations.

To this end, KORAIL will apply cutting-edge IT technologies such as high-performance image processing devices and GPS that can detect risk factors even on trains running at speeds of 150 km/h.

Additionally, using deep learning, an AI self-learning method, the accuracy of distinguishing between magpie nests and overhead lines will be increased to over 95%.

KORAIL will also utilize drones for magpie nest removal. Drones will be deployed to find magpie nests built on overhead lines in vehicle maintenance facilities that are difficult for workers to access.

To facilitate drone use, KORAIL is currently developing a national R&D project called the "Automated Inspection System for Vulnerable Railway Facilities Based on Unmanned Mobile Platforms," which involves three-dimensional imaging of overhead line facilities within stations or vehicle depots and enables drone use for power line inspections.

KORAIL President Son Byung-seok stated, "We will expand research and development of advanced IT technologies for safe train operation, including overhead line management, and establish a smart railway safety management system."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.