3D imaging application in the studies of micro air vehicles

3D techniques are increasingly used in aerospace industry to improve quality and performance of aircrafts. This paper presents a 3D imaging technique for studying the aerodynamic shape and flight performance of micro air vehicles. 3D stereoscopic vision, based upon stroboscopic imaging, was utilized to obtain the 3D information of the aircraft's flexible aerodynamic surface. The aircraft models with deformable aerodynamic shape were designed and tested in a purpose-built wind tunnel experimental environment. After calculation of SIFT feature points and subdivision of triangular meshes, deformable surface of the aircraft's aerodynamic shape was represented. The aircraft's 3D visualization was used for analyzing unsteady deformation in the aerodynamic shape under external airflow disturbances. The results, together with aerodynamic forces measured in the experiment, will be useful to improve the flight performance and disturbance resistance ability of micro air vehicles.