Vision-based wave sensing for high speed vessels

Vision-based water wave sensing is a technique that can be used to create a pro-active ride control system for high-speed marine vessels. This project researches creating a vision-based wave sensing approach that will be able to determine pertinent wave characteristics, such as slope, height, and frequency. The main initial goal of this project is to develop a system that can acquire an image of a wave surface and accurately measure its characteristics. System equipment includes a stereo vision system from Pt. Grey Research. The stereo vision system is capable of producing point cloud images. MATLAB will be used to analyze the recorded data and compute critical information, such as local maximums and minimums, for examining wave characteristics. The goal of this project is to eventually study and characterize regular and irregular waves with the vision-based system. The tests of regular and irregular waves determines the ultimate precision and accuracy of the camera, which allows and further the goal of a vision-based proactive system for a high-speed vessel.