Design and calibration of a four-headed camera system for use in microgravity research

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

In a cooperation of the Swedish Space Corporation, the Microgravity Research Center of the Université Libre de Bruxelles and the Institute of Geodesy and Photogrammetry at ETH Zurich, a system for the measurement of three-dimensional particle motion field in an experimental vessel under micro-gravity conditions has been designed and constructed. The system consists of four CCD cameras and a mirror system allowing a good photogrammetric network quality in combination with an extremely compact design. The paper shows the basic design of the system, discusses a calibration strategy and presents first results. The experiment unit was made for the MASER 8 sounding rocket JET experiment with the aim of a first direct observation of the so-called chemojet motion of free flying small growing crystals. It takes place in a reactor chamber with a dimension of 10x11x14 mm3, into which several hundred particles are injected during the flight. The particles are imaged by four synchronized CCD cameras. The chamber is illuminated from the backside via a milk-glass window. The front wall of the chamber is an observation window used for imaging the particles. According to the reliability requirements of 3-D particle-tracking-velocimetry (3-D PTV), the reactor chamber has to be imaged from at least three different directions. A fourth camera was added to enable the discrimination of two different particle substances via a special illumination in combination with a filter.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)894-899
Number of pages6
JournalInternational Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences - ISPRS Archives
Volume33
Publication statusPublished - 2000
Peer-reviewedYes

Conference

Title19th International Congress for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, ISPRS 2000
Duration16 - 23 July 2000
CityAmsterdam
CountryNetherlands

Keywords

Keywords

  • Calibration, CCD Camera, Measurement System