Published in AEROSPACE Tech Review
Written by Mario Pierobon
High speed cameras are used to capture pictures of very rapid events that would be impossible to capture with normal cameras. As such, they are extensively used also for aerospace testing purposes. Industry experts assess the use of high speed cameras in the domain of aerospace testing, the specific requirements of the aerospace industry with regard to high speed cameras, the factors to consider when selecting a high speed camera and artificial intelligence as an area of integration.
Aerospace Testing
A typical flight test instrumentation high speed camera is capable of taking images at speeds of 200 frames per second or higher and these are collected using a global shutter, which means that the entire image is captured at the same moment in time, affirms Ben Kupferschmidt, senior product line manager for network and ground solutions at Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions. “The result is a clear image without motion blur, despite the very short exposure time. High speed camera imagery can then be played back at slow speeds to allow engineers to perform data analysis on complex events involving rapid motion,” he says. “In the aerospace industry, high speed cameras are useful for a number of flight test instrumentation (FTI) applications. High speed cameras can also help with confirming proper operation for any complex moving surfaces on the aircraft, for example aerial refuelling and de-icing systems. By using multiple high speed cameras, it is possible to capture multiple angles of the same event. The imagery data from these different angles can be combined to help generate a 3D model of the target event.”