Analysis of stereo vision-based measurements of laboratory water waves

Pro-active ride control systems have the potential to improve seakeeping effects for high-speed vessels. By enabling the vessel to adjust for waves it has not yet encountered, the vessel's seakeeping characteristics may be significantly improved allowing it to reach higher speeds. This paper investigates the feasibility of it vision-based wave sensing approach that will be able to determine pertinent wave characteristics, such as slope, height, and frequency. A stereo vision-based system has been successfully applied to the in-situ measurement of laboratory water waves. Surface plots of the initial results from imaging regular sinusoidal waves at the Davidson Lab at Stevens Institute of Technology indicate excellent horizontal and vertical correlation with the generated wave characteristics. Validation of this data has been obtained by conventional wine probes mounted at two different locations in the tank.