Videometric Tracking of Wind Tunnel Aerospace Models at Nasa Langley Research Center

Wind tunnel engineers require measurements of position and orientation of aerospace models under test conditions. The measurement technique must be non-contact, nonintrusive and have a high sample rate. Videometric techniques based on multiple, synchronised CCD cameras can supply position and orientation data at 30Hz or 60Hz with acceptable accuracies. This paper describes a data acquisition system designed and implemented at NASA Langley Research Center to capture the position and orientation of free-flight aerospace models. System calibration and data processing techniques are discussed. Two examples of model tests will be described and examples of data output will be presented.