A Vision-based Experiment for Mechanical Engineering Laboratory Courses

A simple vision-based experiment has been designed which can be used to highlight various concepts and fundamental principles throughout the mechanical engineering curriculum. The experiment consists of a clear tank of water in which objects can be released from rest using an automated release mechanism. A vision system, using one or two standard video cameras, is used to track the falling object. The stereo imaging system, using two cameras, provides object tracking in three dimensions. Experiment control and image-processing software has been written using LabVIEW and IMAQ Vision. A series of images acquired at 60 Hz using one or two video cameras connected to IMAQ 1408 image acquisition boards are analyzed to resolve the instantaneous position of the falling object. Using a basic camera calibration procedure, the instantaneous position information is converted from pixel units to physical units. The object velocity and acceleration data can then be calculated numerically. The experiment has been designed and constructed by a group of three undergraduate students as part of a capstone senior design course. Utilizing the senior-level capstone design course provides a cost-effective means for laboratory improvement in addition to the educational benefits derived by the students from such projects. The approach taken at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) for laboratory improvement is to develop simple experiments that can be used throughout the laboratory curriculum. The backbone of the strategy is the use of LabVIEW for experiment control and data analysis. LabVIEW provides a rapid prototyping tool for necessary software development. This paper describes the design and development of a vision-based experiment and the incorporation of the experiment in the mechanical engineering laboratory curriculum.