A VIDEOMETRIC SYSTEM FOR A FLEXIBLE SPACE STRUCTURE EMULATOR

An optical imaging position sensor, which functions as a real-time photogrammetric system, consisting of a CCD camera, frame grabber and an optical design incorporating multiple lenses and coherent fiber optic bundles, is described in this paper. It is used to accurately track the position of several targets on movable members of a flexible space structure emulator. The system can track 5 active targets to 0.1% accuracy at 60 Hz. A centroid algorithm delivers 0.15 pixel resolution while contending with video interlacing and line jitter. The videometric system provides more reliable position data than can be obtained from a system of accelerometers also residing on the structure.