Fast Mover

Abstract

The realm of high-speed imaging traditionally provides some of the most visually appealing images for the non-specialist. From bullets passing through objects to the minute details of animal behaviour, the ability to freeze time opens the way to unique insights into the world around us, as well as providing a valuable tool for analysis and test in an industrial environment. Often associated with high costs and complex operation, new approaches to capturing critical high-speed events are being developed which can enable scientists and engineers to use high-speed imaging as a routine tool rather than a specialist discipline. By synchronizing high-power illumination pulses with tightly controlled image sensor exposures, while at the same time providing on-board image storage and in-situ processing, a simple and flexible highspeed imaging architecture is realized, capable of wide ranging application. High-speed imaging provides unique insights into processesFrom the seminal work of Eadweard Muybridge in the late nineteenth century analysing the gait of a galloping horse [1] to the latest advances in femto-photography [2], high-speed imaging has a rich history of providing new information about motions, events, and processes. In today's industrial and scientific environments, highspeed imaging is predominately used for scientific analysis or test and measurement applications, with vehicle collision studies [3] probably the most commonly recognized. Other significant applications include particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) [4] whereby images are taken of fluid flows and particle velocities extracted as a tool for aerodynamic engineering, human motion analysis [5], as well as failure mode dynamics and analysis [6], impact testing, and ballistics research [7]. More recently, there has been increasing interest from the biological and nanotechnology sectors [8] to adapt high-speed techniques and leverage the advantages that high-speed technology brings, such as the visualization of MEMS devices.In each case it is the insight that is obtained by viewing events happening on a timescale much faster than humans are capable of visualizing, which provides the ultimate value to the user. Factors to consider for highspeed imagingHigh-speed imaging relies on the ability to capture an optical image of a scene in a short period of time. Using shorter periods of time for scene capture, generally corresponds to an increased ability to "freeze" fast moving events. It is this ability to capture short moments in time which provides the useful diagnostic information used in applications. A typical approach to capturing an image in a short period of time is to simply decrease the exposure time of the camera. Typical image sensors used within machine vision cameras have minimum exposure times in the range 5-15 microseconds, whilst dedicated high-speed imaging systems can operate with exposure times lower than 200 ns. If the object odos imaging LimitedEdinburgh, Scotland odos imaging Limited is a technology focused company specialising in th...