Procurement of Optical Tracking Solutions for the Real-time Tracking of Deformations within a Wind Tunnel Environment.

Description

The DAWS2 project, led by Airbus and supported by Innovate UK, focuses on developing advanced wing solutions for future fuel-efficient aircraft designs. The University of Bristol is a critical partner. In one work package, we are tasked with designing, building, and testing highly flexible wings within the seven-by-five-foot wind tunnel at the University of Bristol. The project requires an advanced optical motion capture system capable of real-time tracking to extract accurate static and dynamic displacement data during wind tunnel testing. This system will replace older optical tracking systems, and in particular, we are seeking: • real-time target tracking • tolerance to target occlusion in one or more cameras • improved workflow efficiency and accuracy. We are seeking an infrared-based optical tracking system that must meet the following functional and technical requirements: • Real-time tracking of up to 50 discrete targets. • Minimum camera count of six and a minimum frame rate of 200 Hz. • A Software Development Kit (SDK) to allow remote control of the tracking workflow and real-time data transfer to 3rd party applications. • Portability for use in multiple test facilities at the University of Bristol. The system's main application will be tracking the deflection of wind tunnel models in the 7x5ft wind tunnel at the University of Bristol.