Cher tous,

par la présente, je vous annonce que j'ai été classé premier au concours de Research Fellow au sein du centre de recherche "Applied Digital Signal and Image Processing" (ADSIP) dirigé par le Professor Lik Kwan Shark. Depuis le premier juin dernier, j'ai donc pris mes fonctions au sein du département de technologie de l'Université du Lancashire Central (UCLAN) localisée à Preston au Royaume-Uni près de la mer d'Irlande.
Voici la page web du centre de recherche : http://technology.uclan.ac.uk/adsip/index.htm
Voici celle de l'Universite : http://www.uclan.ac.uk/

Ayant signé un contrat de deux ans, je participerai a l'élaboration du nouveau laboratoire de Robotique et de Vision de PACCAR dirigé par le Maître de Conférence Bogdan Matuszewski. Comme vous vous en doutez sans doute de par le nom, les subventions proviennent du grand groupe PACCAR Trucks. La page web du laboratoire apparaitra bientôt a l'adresse suivante : http://technology.uclan.ac.uk/adsip/computer_vision_robotics.htm
L'ADSIP a concentré ses activités de recherche principalement au niveau de trois disciplines ou ils ont developpé des connaissances de premier plan et acquis une réputation internationale :
- Traitement de signal et d'images subventionné par Texas Instruments.
- Tests non-destructifs pour BAE Systems.
- Visualisation 3D avec EON Reality.

Il a été décidé de s'impliquer dans la recherche robotique. PACCAR est un leader mondial de la construction de camion. Ils assemblent les fameux DAF et Foden dans leur usine de Leyland près de Preston et les prestigieux Kenworth dans ma ville natale de Montréal. http://www.paccar.com/ Mes prérogatives concernent la recherche de nouvelle solutions pour la robotique fondée sur la vision dans le contexte imprécis et souple de fabrication industrielle. Je me propose également d'aborder la robotique parallèle adaptée a l'industrie.

Luc

Following my first article on pendolino trains, famous Canadian turbo-trains. The train configuration is one with a locomotive at both ends and aI would like to give you a few more images of the variable number of wagons. The locomotive is equiped with a gaz turbine power plant in the front of the locomotive, a passenger compartment in the back and the drivers cockpit in top looking like the WW2 british bombers. On each wagon center, only two doors were provided for passenger access.


The USA bought several turbo-train sets from United Aircraft Corp and we can see one here in its triple wafgon format : only one passenger wagon was between each locomotive allowing fors faster speeds.







With the growing complaints by passengers about the service quality offered by both the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific companies, the federal government decided to to launch a specific company for passenger service. VIA Rail was born and the headquarters were located in Montreal being central in the St-Lawrence corridor and not far from major eastern US cities. Hence, VIA bought CN's turbo-trains and operated them until the arrival of the LRC.

In 1972, this turbo-train was the sole train powered by a turbine along with the French Alsthom turbo-train.


The main problem problem with Canadian passenger transport was simply their lack of realism. For example, the turbo-train operated by the CN were pulling up to ten wagons and this weight charge could only result in lower cruising speeds (never more than160 km/h while the Amtrack small train sets could easily approach 200 km/h). Another example, the CN and CP were the track owners and they were giving priority to freight transport using the very low speed American locomotives (speed not exceeding 70 km/h). Of course to cross Canada from coast to coast, you did not need speed but long train loads instead. Inasmuch, many passengers were blocked many hours behind a freight train. This shows the incompatibility of freight and passenger service. From the moment that VIA obtained priority on tracks, the freight trains were scheduled after the passenger ones, then dramatic service improvements came from the train punctuality and the rolling stock could then prove its worthiness.  One last point was that it was useless to design "rapido" trains if you asked them to stop at every station. This also shows that VIA has never bought appropriate train sets for the "milk runs" like so many can be found in Europe.

This means that Canada has rarely put the realistic and necessary effort or investment into proper train transport aimed at passenger satisfaction translated in terms of rapid service and punctuality.

One can easily appreciate the sleek elegance of these trains with its top windows becoming the VIA trademark. Moreover, from an engineering point of viex, these trains were the sum of the ebats available technology of the moment:
- the Spanish Talgo attachment technology. Two wagons were sitting on a single wheel set and this feature is the best way to insure train lengthwise stability. This principle was later applied on the French TGV which do not see their wagons folding in accidents.
- The first wagon tilting mechanism which later inspired the second generation of Talgos. This tilting mechanism was a very effective passive one.
- The turbine powered locomotives.
The rapido train have set North American records at speeds up to 270 km/h in trial runs. The Canadian crusing speeds were 150 km/h. The limiting factor was the poor track quality.

As fas as drawbacks are concerned, we can identify the following:
- the lack of access doors,
- the very heavy locomotives,
- the long train sets limiting speeds,
- the suspension was not isolating vibration very well and the ride was not considered a very comfortable one.

Now, in many countries, you can see pendular
trains transporting passengers at high speeds (200 km/h). I remember well those beautiful Italian Cisalpino ones going through the Alps or the very famous Talgos linking Spanish cities. But, only a few know that the Pendolino technology was actually introduced in Canada and USA. As early as in 1972, as shown on the picture, you could see the United Aircraft Corp. Turbo-Train entering Montreal in its original Canadian National colors. One can at least that it was an interesting collaboration project.

In the first picture, you can see it approching Montreal city center. This train included two innovations:
- the passive pendular tilting mechanims, manufactured by Montreal Light Works Ltd,
- the turbine powered locomotive, manufactured by United Aircraft from its Longueil factory in Montreal's susburbs.

The train was cruising at 150 km/h between Montreal and Toronto and this was a real performance for Canada. But, the bad CN rail quality led to two accidents which resulted speed limitations since this train could reach 220 km/h.

But, the Montrealers continued to investigate faster trains. This technology was sold to Bombardier along with the one from the English HST which never gave the expected results being often breaking down. The tilting wagons were improved and adapted to a heavy new diesel locomotive which became the world's fastest diesel of the moment, named the LRC, standing for Light, Rapid and Comfortable. The train could smoothly ride for long period at 200 km/h and , in 1981, it could link the 550 km of the Montreal to Toronto distance in les than 5 hours, downtown to downtown. On the picture, we can see one arriving from Quebec City after it was recently revamped. The LRC were fitted with an active tilting mechanism. In fact, each wheel set was connected by an hydraulic piston to the chassis. For one coach, four pistons had to be synchronized in order to insure proper tilting. Their commissionning was quite a challenge.

Well, this technology is the one that you find on most modern pendolinos:
- the Spanish Talgos from 1978,
- the Italian ETR made by FIAT in 1987,
- the Swedish followed with the ABB X2000.

In the next picture, one can appreciate the Italian ETR operated by Cisalpino between Geneva and Milan. I was lucky to take this train on a few occasions.











Altough many countries tried Pendolino projects, the first to really do it are still the USA-Canada people from UAC. Now, Bombardier has evolved to be the world leader of that technology.

The Bombardier system is now installed on all fast passenger trains roving throughout Great Britain and even on the sleek German ICE-3.










On the diagram, you can see the articulated tilting mechanism
which was used on the MLW Turbo-Train wagons. The tilting principle was a passive one which had the advantage of being "natural" in the sens that the wagon was tilting proportionaly to the centrifugal force. In this waw, some people did not suffer from tilting sickness as seen on Italian or Swedish active systems.