Development of a High Speed Computer Vision System for 3D Particle Tracking in Full Scale Rooms

We are currently building a particle tracking system for the measurement of convective heat transfer and pollutant displacement in full scale rooms. The flow is to be seeded with 3 mm-large, neutrally buoyant helium filled soap bubbles. Light is provided by 8 illumination units using florescent light. The seeded flow (air) is recorded by 3 high speed digital video cameras located along three perpendicular directions. The experiment is taking place in a 3.1*3.1*2.5 m³ (W*D*H) test room whose boundary conditions and inner values like temperature, air velocity and solar radiation can be imposed and monitored. As the first step of the research, a specially designed tracking algorithm has been built and tested. The main features of the algorithm are shown. Especially, the procedure for identification of individual particles based on their 3D coordinates calculated by two cameras successively is explained.