High-speed surface reconstruction of a flying bird using structured-light
Abstract
Birds fly effectively and maneuver nimbly by dynamically changing the shape of their wings during each wingbeat. These shape changes have yet to be quantified automatically at high temporal and spatial resolution. Therefore, we developed a custom 3D surface reconstruction method, which uses a high-speed camera to identify spatially encoded binary striped patterns that are projected on a flying bird. This non-invasive structured-light method allows automated 3D reconstruction of each stand-alone frame and can be extended to multiple views. We demonstrate this new technique by automatically reconstructing the dorsal surface of a parrotlet wing at 3200 fps during flapping flight. From this shape we analyze key parameters such as wing twist and angle of attack distribution. While our binary ‘single-shot’ algorithm is demonstrated by quantifying dynamic shape changes of a flying bird, it is generally applicable to moving animals, plants and deforming objects.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2017
- Source ID
- 10.1242/jeb.149708
Entities
People
- Andrew A Biewener
- David Lentink
- Marc E Deetjen
Organizations
- Harvard University
- National Science Foundation
- Office of Naval Research
- Stanford University
- United States Army Research Laboratory