Route feature identification system and method

A system comprising:

• at least one application device configured to be at least one of conductively or inductively coupled with at least one conductive rail of a route being traveled by a vehicle, wherein the at least one application device is configured to be disposed onboard the vehicle;
• a control unit configured to control supply of electric current from a power source to the at least one application device to electrically inject at least one examination signal into the at least one conductive rail via the at least one application device;
• and
• at least one processor configured to be disposed onboard the vehicle, the at least one processor configured to:
• monitor one or more electrical characteristics of the at least one conductive rail in response to the at least one examination signal being injected into the at least one conductive rail;
• identify plural construction features of the route based on one or more of a shape of a waveform of the one or more electrical characteristics, a strength of a signal of the one or more electrical characteristics, or a duration of at least a portion of the one or more electrical characteristics, the construction features corresponding to man-made aspects of the route;
• and
• identify a location of vehicle along the route and a track on which the vehicle is traveling, from among plural tracks that include the track on which the vehicle is traveling and one or more other, parallel, adjacent tracks, based on at least one of a sequence or a time of encountering the plural construction features that are identified.

A system comprising:

• at least one application device configured to be at least one of conductively or inductively coupled with at least one conductive rail of a route being traveled by a vehicle, wherein the at least one application device is configured to be disposed onboard the vehicle;
• a control unit configured to control supply of electric current from a power source to the at least one application device to electrically inject at least one examination signal into the at least one conductive rail via the at least one application device;
• and
• at least one processor configured to be disposed onboard the vehicle, the at least one processor configured to
• monitor one or more electrical characteristics of the at least one conductive rail in response to the at least one examination signal being injected into the at least one conductive rail;
• identify a construction feature of the route based on one or more of a shape of a waveform of the one or more electrical characteristics, a strength of a signal of the one or more electrical characteristics, or a duration of at least a portion of the one or more electrical characteristics, wherein the construction feature corresponds to at least one of a switch, a diamond crossing, or a bridge;
• determine a location of the vehicle based on the construction feature;
• and
• control at least one device onboard the vehicle based on the location that is determined.

A system comprising:

• at least one application device configured to be at least one of conductively or inductively coupled with at least one of a first conductive track or a second conductive track of a route being traveled by a vehicle, wherein the at least one application device is configured to be disposed onboard the vehicle;
• a control unit configured to control supply of electric current from a power source to the at least one application device to electrically inject at least one examination signal into the conductive tracks via the at least one application device;
• at least one processor configured to be disposed onboard the vehicle, the at least one processor configured to
• monitor one or more electrical characteristics of at least one of the first or second conductive tracks in response to the at least one examination signal being injected into the conductive tracks;
• and
• identify a construction feature of the route based on one or more of a shape of a waveform of the one or more electrical characteristics, a strength of a signal of the one or more electrical characteristics, or a duration of at least a portion of the one or more electrical characteristics, wherein the construction feature comprises at least one of a diamond crossing or a bridge.